THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


<S>\>er  tbe  (Sreat  mavajo  Grail 


BOOK:  oo. 


I.KM.    • 

.ANT  BOOK  SllPP''lKr>  -BOOKS  »• 


EX    LIBRIS 


SA?J  CARL.OS 


ROBERT  ERNEST  COWAN 


<S>v>etr  tbe  <5reat  Iftavajo 


Carl 

Hutbor  of  "Hmong  tbe  pueblo  1Fnofan0."  life  Member  of  tbe  Bmerican  flBuseum 
of  IRatural  Ibtstors,  IRew  IBorh.     flGember  of  tbe  Hmerican  Jfolftslore  Society 


f  HuetrateD  witb  ipbotoarapbs 
taften  b£  tbe  Butbor 


IRew  l£orfe,  1900 


COPYRIGHT,  IQOO,  BY 
CARL  EICKEMEYER 


Idtfe 
Xilian  Mestcott  Bicfteme^er 


2P 

CD 


276464 


Contents 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTION        .        .        . 13 

I 

THE  GREAT  NAVAJO  TRAIL /  ig 

v. 

History  of  the  Trail. — Reception  of  Early  Settlers. — Early  Skir- 
mishes.— Condition  during  the  Rebellion. — Navajos,  Apaches,  Comanches, 
and  Kiowas. — Navajo  Reservation. 

II 

STARTING  OVER  THE  TRAIL 20 

Leaving  Santa  Fe. — Prairie-dog  Villages. — Physical  Characteristics 
of  the  Country. — Jemez  Pueblo. — Sleeping  with  One  Eye  Open. — United 
States  Troops. — Meeting  Navajos. — Cabezon  Peak. 

Ill 

CABEZON  AND  WESTWARD 63 

Cabezon. — Frontier  Whiskey. — Indian  Ponies. — San  Mateo. — Mexi- 
can Cattle-raising. — New  Mexican  Politics. — Pueblo  Ruins. — The  Peni- 
tente. — The  Continental  Divide. 

IV 
ON  THE  RESERVATION     .        .        .        .         .        .        .         .        •  (  103 

Gallup. — Gold  Excitement. — Captain  Que-su-la. — Old  Fort  Defi- 
ance.— Government  School.— Navajo  Hogan. — Trading  Post. — Camp  in 

.rf*"  "  ~"^>^ 

*    the  Heavy  Timber--—  Navajo  Life.  J"N 


Contents 

V 

PAGK 

AROUND  OUR  CAMP-FIRE        .     ___*__     .        .        .        .        .        .  /  157 

Visitors  at  Camp. — An  Old  Navajo  Historian. — Trading. — Toward 
the  San  Juan. 

VI 

IN  THE  HOGAN .         .        . 

Caught  in  an  Arroyo. — The  Large  Hogan. — Weaving  Blankets. — 
The  Medicine-Man. — Witchcraft. — The  Silversmith.— Bear  Tracks.  - 
Tse-a-lee. — Coyotes. 

VII 

To  ROUND  ROCK  .........     233 

A  Mountain  Settlement. — Breaking  Camp. — The  Council  House. — 
Navajo  Sweat  Lodge. — Crossing  a  Hot  Arizona  Desert. — Cow  Meat. — 
Round  Rock  Trading  Post. 

VIII 

THE  NAVAJO .         ...        .261 

The   Reservation. — Treatment    of    the    Indians. — Mining    on     the 
Reservation. — Opening  up  the  Reservation,  and  the  Result. 


Xtet  of  Illustrations 

PAGE 

THE  AUTHOR         . Frontispiece 

STARTING  OVER  THE  TRAIL    .         .         .         .         .         .         .  33 

MEXICAN  Ox -TEAMS 37 

EDGE  OF  A  LAVA-CAPPED  MESA 41 

FORDING  THE  Rio  GRANDE 45 

A  BIT  OF  ROUGH  ROAD 49 

A  PRAIRIE  FOUR-IN-HAND 53 

UNITED  STATES  CAVALRY 57 

COMING  UP  THE  RIVER-BED 67 

THE  AMBULANCE    . 71 

BLACKSMITH  SHOP 75 

THE  MILL     .                  79 

SALT  CREEK -83 

IN  AN  ARROYO 87 

IN  THE  CANON .91 

A  STOP  FOR  DINNER 95 

OVER  THE  TRAII 99 

AT  CABEZON 107 

MENDING  His  SHIRT in 

COOKING  SUPPER 115 

COURTHOUSE  AT  GALLUP,  N.  M 119 

SOFT-COAL  SHAFT 123 

CAPTAIN  QUE-SU-LA        . 127 

ii 


Xist  of  HUustrations 


PAGE 


KOON-KAN 131 

A  SHAVE  IN  CAMP 135 

THE  HOGAN           . .  139 

NAVAJO  POLICEMAN 143 

NAVAJO  BOYS         ..........  147 

GETTING  READY  TO  MOVE 151 

THE  BIG  PINE 161 

A  DESERTED  HOGAN 165 

THE  PROVISION  WAGON 169 

RETURNING  FROM  THE  CARRISO  MOUNTAINS     .         .        .        .         -173 

SPINNING  YARN       . 177 

WEAVING  A  BLANKET 181 

A  NAVAJO  BLANKET       .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .185 

THE  NORTHEASTERN  SLOPE     .         .         .         .         .         .         .        .189 

SAM 193 

NEAR  WHEATFIELDS  CREEK    .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .201 

SAM  AT  HOME 205 

A  NAVAJO  WEAVER 209 

TSE-A-LEE 213 

KNITTING  IN  THE  SHADE 217 

THE  COYOTE 221 

IN  THE  PINES 225 

THE  SWEAT  LODGE         .........  229 

WAITING  FOR  A  COYOTE 237 

CHARLEY  WHITE 243 

GOING  TO  THE  TRADER'S        .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  249 

ROUND  ROCK  TRADING  POST 253 

CAYUSES 257 

12 


Introduction 


flntrofcuction 

N  my  book,  "  Among  the  Pueblo  Indians,"  the 
kodak  aided  the  manuscript  to  such  an  extent 
in  portraying  the  strange  and  realistic  scenes 
witnessed  among  these  curiously  interesting  people, 
that  it  is  my  wish  to  use  the  same  method  in  convey- 
ing the  desired  impression  to  the  reader  in  the  present 
instance. 

With  this  object  in  view,  therefore,  I  offer  this 
volume,  containing  the  photographs  and  an  account  of 
my  experiences  among  a  people  who  are  yet  in  a 
state  unaffected  by  the  influences  of  civilization  or  by 
contact  with  white  settlers  ;  who  will  probably  never, 
to  any  great  extent,  occupy  the  fertile  valleys,  few  and 
far  between  the  great  barren  wastes  of  the  lava-capped 
mesas  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona. 

The  few  square  miles  of  mountainous  country  within 
the  borders  of  the  Navajo  Reservation — the  terminus 

15 


flntrofcuction 

of  the  Great  Navajo  Trail — are,  with  the  exception  of 
traders  and  the  Indian  Agent,  seldom  visited  by  whites. 
It  is  here  the  Indian  is  found  in  a  perfectly  natural 
state,  living  according  to  ancient  customs  and  beliefs, 
and  carrying  on  the  industries  he  has  followed  for 
generations.  Horse,  cattle,  and  sheep  raising,  as  well 
as  the  art  of  silversmithing,  were  undoubtedly  acquired 
from  the  early  Spanish  settlers  ;  while  the  weaving  of 
beautifully  designed  blankets,  an  industry  for  which 
Navajo  women  are  noted,  is  evidently  traceable  to  the 
Aztecs. 

Pottery-making,  at  which  the  Pueblo  Indians  excel, 
has  never  been  developed  by  the  Navajos  beyond  a 
crude,  blackened,  half-baked,  round-bottomed  clay  jar, 
inartistic  in  shape,  and  without  glaze  or  decoration. 
The  art  of  basket-weaving  is  not  carried  on  to  any 
great  extent  by  the  Navajos. 

The  Navajos,  although  superstitious  in  the  extreme, 
believing  in  witches  and  evil  spirits  of  every  descrip- 
tion, are  industrious,  energetic,  and,  up  to  the  limit 
their  land  allows,  they  are  self-supporting.  Some  have 
even  acquired  considerable  wealth  by  raising  sheep, 
goats,  and  horses,  which  now  number  many  thousands. 

Any  hatred  the  race  may  have  for  the  whites  seems 

16 


Untrobuction 

to  exist  only  in  regard  to  the  method  of  compulsory 
education  in  vogue,  which  deprives  the  Indian  of  his 
children — the  greatest  of  all  his  possessions. 

My  mention  of  Navajo  men  and  women  as  bucks 
and  squaws,  terms  now  questioned  by  literary  critics, 
is  merely  to  use  words  the  Indians  themselves  use  in 
speaking,  not  only  of  each  other,  but  of  men  and 
women  in  general.  Often  in  my  travels  have  I  heard 
the  expression,  "White  man's  squaw." 

CARL    EICKEMEYER 
NOVEMBER,  1900. 


Great  IRavajo  Grail 


n 


(5reat  IRavajo 


History  of  the  Trail.  —  Reception  of  Early  Settlers.  —  Early  Skirmishes.  —  Con- 
dition during  the  Rebellion.  —  Navajos,  Apaches,  Comanches,  and  Kiowas.  —  Navajo 
Reservation. 

SH]N  travelling  through  rough  and  mountainous  New 
Mexico,  a  section  of  country  only  partially 
settled  by  a  people  who  at  one  time  inhabited 
our  land  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and 
from  the  Gulf  far  into  the  British  possessions  on  the 
north  ;  with  their  original  manners,  customs,  and  reli- 
gion, and  having  a  language  of  their  own  to  which  they 
still  adhere  ;  together  with  a  people  who  are  the  de- 
scendants of  the  Spaniards,  and  yet  speak  a  corruption 


<§>\>er  tbe  (Breat  1Rax>ajo 

of  the  mother  tongue,  without  the  slightest  knowledge 
of  the  English  language,  one  not  accustomed  to  their 
ways,  and  living  under  entirely  different  circumstances, 
feels  as  if  he  were  in  a  foreign  country  rather  than 
within  the  borders  of  his  native  land;  and  he  is  natur- 
ally looked  upon  as  an  intruder. 

It  is  not  at  all  to  be  wondered  at,  therefore,  that, 
during  the  early  days  of  the  invasion  of  New  Mexico 
by  the  whites,  they  were  looked  upon  with  contempt 
by  the  Indians  and  Mexicans,  who,  with  the  exception 
of  a  few,  threw  every  obstruction  possible  in  the  way 
of  those  who  had  come  from  the  far  East,  over  unbeaten 
trails,  to  make  this  country  their  home. 

The  Mexicans,  living  in  little  adobe  settlements  along 
river  beds,  whose  streams  furnished  water  enough  to  irri- 
gate their  fields  in  the  spring,  and  were  dry  during  the 
remainder  of  the  year,  when  the  only  water  supply  was 
from  alkali  springs  bubbling  up  not  far  from  the  river 
beds,  were  continually  at  war  with  the  Indians — each 
retaliating  for  some  former  raid  of  the  other,  when 
their  homes  had  been  burned  and  their  cattle  driven 
off.  These  depredations  were  gradually  transforming 
an  industrious,  home-loving  people  into  hostile  bands. 

With  these  and  other  uncertainties  the  settlers  had 

22 


(Brcat  IRavajo  Grail 

to  contend  when  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  broke 
out,  making  another  division  in  sentiment  which  had 
to  adjust  itself.  There  was  the  Confederate  army  in 
Texas  to  cope  with ;  the  liability  of  an  insurrection 
among  the  Mexicans  ;  and  the  continual  raids  of  the 
Navajos  and  Apaches  on  the  west  of  the  Rio  Grande, 
and  the  Comanches  and  Kiowas  on  the  east. 

To  pursue  the  Indians  over  arid  plains  and  through 
mountain  passes,  where  animal  life,  with  the  exception 
of  gophers,  lizards,  and  rattlesnakes,  cannot  exist,  was 
a  hazardous  attempt  for  a  company  of  cavalry,  and  an 
impossibility  for  infantry,  who,  in  many  cases,  became 
demoralized  while  advancing  to  the  front,  their  gal- 
lant leaders  having  been  picked  off,  victims  of  an 
unseen  foe,  who  were  fighting  from  rock  to  rock, 
making  every  shot  tell.  From  these  experiences,  it  was 
soon  found  that  the  only  tactics  to  be  used  against 
such  skirmishing  were  to  adopt  a  similar  course,  more 
accordant  to  the  methods  used  by  the  old  Indian 
fighters  present,  who  had  exercised  this  mode  of  war- 
fare from  the  time  of  their  early  arrival  in  the  country. 

The  Mexicans,  who  could  take  some  ears  of  corn 
and  a  few  tortillas,  and  start  across  country  on  their 
ponies,  travelling  for  days  without  water,  were  much 

23 


<§>\>er  tbc  <5reat  IRavajo 

more  feared  by  the  Indians  than  were  the  United 
States  troops,  who,  being  strained  to  their  utmost  by 
the  invasion  of  the  country  by  the  Texans,  were  not 
always  able  to  keep  the  roving  Indians  in  subjection. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  country  were  thus  kept  in  a 
constant  state  of  excitement,  and  it  was  for  the  safety 
of  all  that  the  United  States  Government  sought  the 
best  method  of  quelling  these  disturbances — namely, 
the  removal  of  the  Indians  to  reservations,  where  they 
might  settle  down  in  permanent  homes,  isolated  from 
the  other  inhabitants  of  New  Mexico.  This  was  not 
accomplished  until  near  the  close  of  the  Rebellion, 
when  Col.  Kit  Carson,  at  the  head  of  the  Navajo 
Expedition,  succeeded,  with  much  difficulty  and  hard 
fighting,  in  placing  the  Navajos,  band  after  band,  at 
Bosque  Redondo  on  the  Pecos  Rio,  near  old  Fort 
Sumner,  where  they  were  kept  prisoners  of  war  until 
a  treaty  of  peace  was  signed.  This  tract  of  land 
proved  too  small  for  the  7,000  Navajos  encamped 
there,  in  consequence  of  which,  in  a  destitute  con- 
dition, they  were  removed  to  their  present  reservation. 

The  Navajo  Reservation,  containing  over  12,000 
square  miles,  lies  in  the  northwestern  corner  of  New 

Mexico    and  the  northeastern  part  of    Arizona,  and  at 

24 


Gbe  (Sreat  Iftavajo  Grail 

the  present  time  has  a  population  of  about  20,000. 
In  the  early  days  of  its  history,  the  trails  leading  to 
and  from  the  reservation  were  formed  not  only  by  the 
wagon  trains  that  brought  supplies  to  the  troops  and 
the  Indian  Agent,  but  by  the  Indians,  who,  in  many 
instances,  with  all  their  possessions — a  few  blankets, 
bows,  and  arrows,  and  old  guns — would  go  to  the 
border  towns  and  trade  these  for  one  or  two  sheep, 
which  formed  the  nucleus  that  was  the  foundation  of 
future  prosperity.  The  great  Navajo  trail,  which  has 
opened  the  way  between  the  reservation  and  the  Rio 
Grande,  is  the  path  over  which  the  Navajos  have  for 
years  driven  their  bunches  of  horses  and  cattle  to  the 
Indian  pueblos,  where  they  traded  them,  generally  for 
bead-work,  for  which  the  Pueblos  are  noted. 

That  part  of  the  trail  lying  between  Santa  Fe  and 
Gallup  forms  part  of  the  old  Santa  Fe  trail,  which 
was  the  southern  of  the  two  principal  routes  between 
Leavenworth,  Kansas,  and  San  Francisco,  taken  by 
the  emigrants  and  early  settlers  who  wended  their 
way  over  this  desolate  trail  from  eastern  Kansas  in 
search  of  fortune,  after  the  discovery  of  gold  in  Cali- 
fornia in  1848. 

The  northern  route  was  over  the  Great  Salt  Lake 

25 


©\>er  tbe  (Sreat  IRavajo  Grail 

trail,  through  Denver,  Fort  Laramie,  Salt  Lake  City, 
and  Carson  City  to  California.  Each  route  was  equally 
hard  to  travel,  the  Santa  Fe  trail  avoiding  the  rugged 
mountains  to  the  north,  only  to  substitute  the  arid 
deserts  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  where  many 
perished  from  want  of  water. 

Previous  to  the  building  of  the  Union  Pacific  Rail- 
road in  1869,  these  trails  formed  the  old  mail-stage 
routes  (when  passengers  and  mail  and  express  matter 
occupied  the  same  quarters),  as  well  as  being  the  road 
over  which  many  thousand  emigrants  travelled  in  their 
prairie  schooners  to  form  the  early  population  of  Cali- 
fornia. And  over  these  trails,  the  greater  part  of  the 
provisions  consumed  by  these  pioneer  settlers  was 
transported  by  wagon  trains  of  from  ten  to  thirty 
wagons,  each  drawn  by  six  yoke  of  oxen,  hauling  fifty 
hundredweight — the  wagons  themselves  weighing  fif- 
teen hundred  pounds  each.  The  time  consumed  in 
these  trips  from  the  Missouri  to  the  Pacific  varied 
from  three  to  four  months. 

The  trail  between  Santa  Fe  and  the  pueblo  of 
Zuni  was  followed  by  Coronado  as  early  as  1542  ; 
while  that  part  between  the  Missouri  and  Santa  Fe 
was  opened  in  1805  (improved  in  1844  by  the  United 


(Sreat  IRavajo  Grail 

States  Government  under  the  direction  of  Col.  Kit 
Carson),  and  was  continually  travelled  until  1878,  when 
the  Santa  Fe  Railroad  was  built,  practically  over  the 
line  of  the  old  trail,  which  then  fell  into  disuse,  and 
which  will,  in  time,  be  entirely  obliterated. 

To-day,  after  years  of  neglect,  the  road  shows  the 
effect  of  heavy  rains  that  have  washed  out  the  soil  in 
the  rocky  acclivities,  leaving  bare  ledges  of  rock,  at 
the  foot  of  which  are  bowlders  of  lava  obstructing  the 
roadway.  Near  the  river  beds  the  strong  whirlwinds 
have  picked  up  the  sand  and  deposited  it  in  drifts, 
which  offer  such  resistance  to  the  wagon  that  travel- 
ling is  much  more  difficult  than  formerly. 

In  order  that  one  may  see  that  part  of  our  great 
Western  country  which  is  yet  in  a  condition  unaffected 
by  the  advancement  of  civilization,  he  must  follow  the 
trails  and  rough  roads  for  miles,  and  endure  hardships 
that  are  to  be  experienced  only  when  travelling  at 
great  distances  from  the  railroad. 


27 


1111 

Starting  ©v>er  tbc  Grail 


Starting  ©ver  tbe  Grail 


Leaving  Santa  Fe.  —  Prairie-dog  Villages.  —  Physical  Characteristics  of  the 
Country.  —  Jemez  Pueblo.  —  Sleeping  with  One  Eye  Open.  —  United  States  Troops.  — 
Meeting  Xavajos.  —  Cabezon  Peak. 

DURING  my  visits  to  the 
Indian  pueblos  of  New  Mexico, 
I  became  greatly  interested  in 
the  Navajos,  many  of  whom 
had  come  across  the  country 
from  their  reservation,  to  be 
present  at  the  dances  of  the 
Pueblos,  and  to  trade  their 
beautifully-woven  blankets  and 

their     silver-work    with      these 

•V. 

Indians.     Their   stern    features 

and    fine   physiques,   due  to   the  natural  life  they  lead, 
together  with  their  skill  in  handling  horses,  led  me  to 

31 


©ver  tbe  (Sreat  IRavmjo  Grail 

choose  the  Navajo  country  as  the  objective  point  of 
my  next  outing. 

In  the  summer  of  1896,  in  company  with  my  wife 
and  Sam,  an  Indian  interpreter,  I  left  Santa  Fe  to 
travel  westward  over  the  Great  Navajo  Trail,  with  a 
saddle  pony,  team,  and  a  wagon  loaded  with  the 
necessary  articles  of  camp  life.  The  name  given  Sam 
at  the  Agency  school  was  Sam  Reader,  while  his 
Navajo  name  was  De-not-sosa,  meaning  Rope.  The 
morning  was  bright  and  beautiful,  the  sky  cloud- 
less, and  a  clear,  cool  breeze  from  the  southwest 
made  life  on  the  road  full  of  enjoyment.  In  the 
distance  loomed  up  great  mountains — our  landmarks, 
which  we  would  not  reach  for  several  days.  Back 
over  the  gradually-rising  prairie,  lay  Santa  Fe  at 
the  foot  of  the  gray-topped  mountains,  until,  in  the 
growing  distance,  it  became  smaller  and  smaller — then 
v?nished. 

We  passed  many  ox-teams  leisurely  drawing  loads 
of  hay  which  the  Mexicans  from  Agua  Fria  were 
taking  to  their  corrals  to  store  as  winter  food  for 
their  cattle.  In  many  cases  where  one  team  closely 
followed  another,  the  driver  of  the  second  was 

perched    on    the    load    of    the    former,    evidently    for 

32 


Starting  ©\>er  tbe 

companionship,  while  the  oxen  trudged  sleepily 
along  behind,  stopping  only  when  the  front  team 
halted. 

The  prairie  was  here  and  there  dotted  with  prairie- 
dog  villages,  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  which  were  sit- 
ting on  their  haunches  near  their  burrows — others  were 
running  around,  gathering  roots.  A  burrowing  owl — a 
small  brownish-mottled  bird — was  standing  erectly  on 
the  edge  of  a  deserted  prairie-dog  burrow,  inquisitively 
eying  the  passer-by.  Upon  being  approached,  he  was 
not  in  the  least  alarmed ;  while  his  companions,  the 
prairie  dogs,  slid  down  their  burrows  at  the  first  sight 
of  the  strangers. 

These  owls  are  common  throughout  the  West  and 
Southwest.  They  take  deserted  burrows  of  prairie-dog 
villages  for  their  homes,  possibly  on  account  of  the 
facility  thus  offered  for  obtaining  mice  and  insects,  upon 
which  they  chiefly  subsist. 

The  Cerrillos  Mountains,  surrounded  by  conically- 
shaped  hills,  rise  from  the  lower  end  of  the  plain. 
These  mountains  are  noted  for  their  rich  mineral  re- 
sources, containing  mines  of  gold  and  silver  and  of 
turquoise,  which,  before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards, 
were  worked  by  the  Pueblo  Indians,  who  to-day  have 

35 


©ver  tbe  (Breat  1Ra\>ajo  Grail 

bits  of  turquoise  in  their  strings  of  beads,  and  are 
excellent  judges  of  its  quality. 

To  the  right  of  the  plain  extends  a  high  wall  of 
sand  rising  in  a  steep  slope,  topped  off  with  a  layer 
of  lava,  and  forming  a  barrier,  along  the  side  of  which 
flows  the  Rio  Santa  Fe.  In  the  distance  the  road 
climbs  the  sandy  slope  like  a  white  chalk-mark,  cutting 
through  the  dark  edge  of  the  lava  to  the  top  of  the 
mesa.  For  miles  the  road  is  level,  except  for  the 
gradual  undulations  of  the  prairie,  and  we  were  able  to 
jog  along  at  a  good  rate  of  speed — the  team  in  their 
steady  gait,  the  saddle  pony  in  his  fox-trot,  pegging 
away  over  the  road  with  an  air  of  contentment  as  if 
his  task  were  an  everyday  occurrence.  The  monot- 
ony was  relieved  now  and  then  by  Sam,  who,  when 
tired  of  cracking  the  whip,  broke  into  a  chant — one  of 
those  sung  by  the  Indians  in  their  dances  and  festi- 
vals, and  which  have  been  handed  down,  with  but  little 
change  or  variation,  from  generation  to  generation. 

Many  shore-larks  were  seen  along  the  road.  As 
we  neared  them,  some  of  the  males  raised  their  little 
horned  heads,  gracefully  displaying  the  black  crescents 
on  their  breasts,  as  if  inquiring  whether  it  were  nec- 
essary to  flutter  further  along  out  of  danger.  This 

36 


276464 


Starting  <S>\>er  tbe  Grail 

lark  is  decidedly  a  ground  bird,  living  on  insects  and 
seeds,  and  never  alighting  on  trees  or  shrubs.  This 
characteristic,  together  with  its  never  having  to  grasp 
its  food,  is  undoubtedly  the  cause  of  the  peculiar 
growth  of  the  single  rear  toe-claw,  which  grows  straight 
to  the  rear,  needle-shaped,  about  half  an  inch  long. 
The  three  front  toe-claws  are  only  slightly  curved. 

Passing  a  bunch  of  cattle  grazing  not  far  from  the 
trail,  and  tended  by  two  Mexicans,  we  reached  the  edge 
of  the  mesa,  where  the  road,  becoming  very  rough, 
descends  through  deep  passes  around  the  edge  of  the 
cliff  known  as  La  Bajada.  Here  and  there,  large 
bowlders,  laid  bare  by  denudation,  had  rolled  to  the 
foot  of  the  slope,  which,  together  with  the  deep  gullies 
in  the  road,  made  it  necessary  to  tie  up  both  back 
wheels  of  the  wagon,  as  a  brake,  under  such  circum- 
stances, is  of  little  use. 

At  sunset  we  reached  the  plain  below  and  camped 
beside  a  stream  which  runs  down  the  deep  canon  cut 
in  the  mesa  from  which  we  had  just  descended.  Across 
the  stream  lay  a  little  adobe  village,  with  its  fields  of 
corn  and  alfalfa  extending  from  the  hillside  to  the 
river-bed.  As  the  sun  was  sinking  behind  the  distant 
mountains,  shedding  a  soft  light  over  the  country,  the 

39 


©vcr  tbe  (Sreat  IRavajo  Grail 

little  square  windows  in  the  adobe  huts  of  the  Mexi- 
cans emitted  rays  of  candlelight — as  if  in  imitation  of 
the  heavens,  where  star  after  star  lighted  up  the  clear 
blue  sky,  making  the  black  line  of  the  mountains 
clearly  discernible  against  the  horizon. 

The  bed  in  the  tent  being  ready,  we  turned  in 
between  blankets  spread  on  a  wagon-cover  on  the 
ground,  and,  with  a  saddle  for  a  pillow,  settled  our- 
selves for  a  good  night's  rest ;  while  Sam,  rolling  him- 
self in  his  blanket,  slept  in  the  bottom  of  the  wagon, 
with  a  gun  under  his  coat  (that  served  as  a  pillow), 
avowing  that  no  one  ever  stole  up  on  a  camp  where 
he  slept. 

The  horses,  which  had  been  picketed  out  in  front 
of  the  tent,  now  and  then  broke  the  stillness  of  the 
night  by  pulling  buffalo  grass,  and  snorting  at  inter- 
vals. A  coyote,  seeing  our  camp,  came  to  the  top  of 
the  nearest  knoll,  and,  with  his  nose  pointed  to  the  sky, 
gave  his  laughing  bark.  This  unearthly  cry  startled 
the  dogs  in  the  village.  On  being  aroused,  a  general 
fight  began,  probably  started  by  a  dog  that  had  been 
too  inquisitive  as  to  the  whereabouts  of  the  coyote, 
and  had  wandered  into  a  different  part  of  the  town, 

where   other    dogs  took  hold    of   him  by   mistake,   and 

40 


Starting  ©\>er  tbe  Grail 

the  growling,  barking,  and  yelping  could  all  be  heard 
at  one  time. 

The  dogs  of  these  villages,  from  their  build  and 
color,  appear  to  be  part  wolf  or  coyote,  being  tall,  thin, 
and  shaggy,  and  having  small  heads,  thick  necks,  and 
deep  chests. 

For  a  while  all  was  quiet,  except  for  the  continual 
noise  of  the  horses  pulling  the  grass,  until  the  braying 
of  a  burro,  in  its  two-note  call,  was  heard,  and,  in  turn, 
answered  by  another  from  a  different  part  of  the  corral. 
The  night  passed,  with  slumbers  broken,  off  and  on, 
until  the  starlight  grew  dim,  and  the  sun  began  to 
light  up  the  plain,  letting  us  know  it  was  time  to  start 
the  fire,  and  puc  on  the  old  blackened  coffee-pot,  the 
one  object  of  all  others  sacred  in  the  eyes  of  the  cam- 
per. As  we  rose  from  our  bed  on  the  ground,  a  centi- 
pede ran  swiftly  in  and  out  among  the  blankets,  and 
in  trying  to  catch  him  we  came  across  a  scorpion, 
nestling  in  one  corner  of  the  bed,  as  if  lazily  waiting 
for  his  breakfast.  He,  as  well  as  the  centipede,  was 
put  in  alcohol  with  some  other  specimens  we  had  col- 
lected, and  another  day's  journey  began. 

The  canon  of  the  Rio  Grande,  its  sides  streaked 
with  white  sandstone,  from  which  it  derives  its  name 

43 


©\>er  tbe  (Breat 

of  White  Rock  Canon,  here  ends,  and  the  country 
spreads  out  into  a  fertile  plain.  The  tall,  spreading 
cottonwood  trees  alono-  the  sides  of  the  stream  are  the 

o 

first  indications  of  water  the  traveller  perceives  when 
crossing  these  broad  plains  ;  and  he  knows  he  is  near- 
ing  a  settlement.  A  Mexican  town,  most  likely,  with 
its  five  or  six  adobe  houses,  its  church,  without  which 
no  Mexican  village  is  complete,  and  the  priest  who, 
in  addition  to  his  other  duties,  forgives  the  sins  of 
the  Mexicans ;  and,  judging  from  their  sinning  pro- 
pensities, he  must  be  kept  busy. 

The  priest  is  the  one  person  of  importance  in  a 
Mexican  town,  inspiring  the  people  with  nearly  as 
much  awe  as  does  the  United  States  revenue  officer, 
who  frequently  visits  the  towns  to  see  that  the  gov- 
ernment stamp  is  on  the  whiskey  barrels.  His  place 
is  nicely  laid  out  with  flower  gardens  and  fruit  trees ; 
his  cattle  and  horses  always  look  in  the  finest  condi- 
tion ;  and  he  has  the  best  the  land  affords.  Altogether, 
his  lot  is  a  pleasant  one. 

Near  the  Rio  Grande  the  road  is  lined  on  both  sides 
by  cottonwood  trees,  which,  for  a  short  distance,  pro- 
tect one  from  the  intense  heat  of  the  sun.  Crossing 

O 

the  marshes,   spotted    here  and    there  with   patches   of 


Starting  ©per  tbe  Grail 

alkali,  resembling  frost,  we  reached  the  river,  where, 
although  the  water  was  up  to  the  horses'  bellies,  it  was 
not  too  deep  to  ford  with  the  wagon.  One  of  the 
greatest  dangers  encountered  in  travelling  across  this 
country  with  an  outfit  is  in  fording  the  streams,  which, 
at  the  time  the  snow  is  melting  in  the  mountains,  and 
during  the  rainy  seasons,  carry  down  large  quantities  of 
water.  The  river-beds  contain  many  quicksand  holes, 
and  when  fording  a  place  at  one  time  a  team  may  cross 
in  safety,  while  two  hours  later  the  bed  will  have  been 
washed  out  to  a  depth  of  six  or  eight  feet.  It  is  here 
the  saddle  pony  is  of  the  greatest  use.  He  advances 
carefully,  step  by  step,  should  the  ground  near  the 
stream  be  soft,  satisfying  himself  that  the  river-bed  is 
reasonably  hard  before  crossing.  In  this  way,  one 
finds  the  fords,  and  crosses  with  his  team,  not  running 
any  risk  of  having  his  provisions  washed  down  the 
stream. 

We  camped  a  mile  from  the  river,  far  enough  up 
the  slope,  we  thought,  to  be  out  of  range  of  the  gnats 
and  mosquitoes  ;  but  they  followed  us  in  great  swarms, 
evidently  considering  the  change  of  diet  from  Mexican 
to  American  an  agreeable  one.  It  was  not  until  a 
smudge  of  green  cedar  had  been  built  in  the  tent 

47 


©\>er  tbe  (Breat  IRavajo 

that  we  were  at  all  comfortable,  and  even  then  the 
insects  did  not  entirely  disappear. 

Next  day  we  engaged  a  team  to  help  us  over  the 
mesa  to  Jemez,  an  Indian  pueblo,  with  a  population 
of  about  four  hundred,  situated  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Rio  Jemez.  The  road  over  the  divide  is  heavy, 
and,  as  the  Jemez  gives  the  next  water  supply,  the 
journey  of  forty-two  miles  should  be  made  in  a  day. 
The  young  Mexican  from  whom  we  had  hired  the 
horses  agreed  to  come  to  camp  with  his  team  the 
following  morning,  and  at  sunrise  he  turned  up  with 
them,  such  as  they  were.  After  fixing  his  old  harness 
with  rope,  and  his  crude-looking  whiffletree  with  hay- 
wire, we  put  his  team  in  the  lead,  and  started  out  to 
ascend  the  Mesa  of  Santa  Ana. 

We  drove  through  thickly-wooded  groves  of  red 
and  white  cedar,  crossing  one  hill  after  another,  until, 
from  the  bed  of  the  last  arroyo,  we  ascended  one  of 
the  mesas  that  are  characteristic  of  the  scenery  of  the 
great  central  plateau  from  which  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains rise.  They  spread  out  for  miles  on  either  side 
of  mountain  ranges,  which  contain  the  craters  of  ex- 
tinct volcanoes,  that  at  one  time  poured  forth  the 
lava  which  forms  the  tops  of  the  surrounding  table- 

48 


Starting  <§>\>er  tbe  (Trail 

lands.  These  mesas  are  cut  by  deep  canons,  which 
were  formed  at  a  time  when  a  greater  amount  of 
water  than  there  is  to-day  was  carried  down  the  slopes; 
when  torrents  from  cloudbursts,  flowing  in  rapid  suc- 
cession during  the  rainy  seasons,  wore  through  the 
lava  and  washed  out  the  underlying  sand,  leaving  per- 
pendicular cliffs  and  pinnacles,  which  are  counter-worn 
by  the  high  winds  of  to-day. 

By  the  roadside  are  scrub  cedar,  amola,  and  buf- 
falo grass  a  foot  high,  growing  out  of  the  hot  sand, 
which,  as  the  sun  beats  down  upon  it,  brings  on  an 
unbearable  thirst  to  the  traveller  as  he  goes  on,  mile 
after  mile,  over  the  arid  plain. 

In  decided  contrast  to  the  nights,  which  in  this 
country  are  uncomfortably  cold,  so  intense  is  the  noon- 
day heat  that  one  often  finds  it  impossible  to  rest 
his  hand  on  the  pommel  of  his  saddle.  Among  the 
few  forms  of  animal  life  existing  under  these  circum- 
stances is  the  prairie  rattlesnake,  seen  from  time  to 
time  along  the  road  ;  his  slumbers  being  temporarily 
disturbed  by  the  passer-by,  he  rattles  his  defiance  and 
crawls  away  over  the  burning  sands. 

Suddenly  the  country  changes  ;  becomes  broken  up 
by  sand  hills,  bounded  by  rugged  cliffs  with  bright 

51 


©v>er  tbe  (Breat  IRavajo  Grail 

coloring  of  red  and  white  sandstone,  blended  with 
the  colors,  in  the  strata,  of  blue  and  green  limestone. 
To  the  northwest  is  the  deep,  black  canon  of  the 
Guadalupe,  joining  that  of  the  Rio  Jemez.  These 
canons  cut  deeply  into  the  vast,  sweeping  mesas,  until 
high,  barren-topped  mountains  form  their  boundary 
against  the  horizon. 

We  camped  on  the  outskirts  of  Jemez  pueblo, 
where  a  strong  wind,  sweeping  up  the  river-bed  with 
great  force,  picked  up  the  sand  like  so  much  chaff, 
making  it  almost  impossible  to  put  the  tent  in  posi- 
tion, and  pulling  out  the  stakes  as  fast  as  they  could 
be  driven.  Waiting  for  a  cessation  in  the  blow,  we 
drove  the  stakes  and  piled  enough  sand  on  the  side 
canvas  to  keep  the  tent  in  position. 

The  Mexican  who  had  helped  us  over  the  mesa  to 
Jemez  sat  watching  us  get  supper.  He  could  not,  it 
seemed,  make  up  his  mind  whether  to  stay  in  camp  with 
us,  or  to  sleep  in  a  corral  across  the  river.  He  said  at 
first  he  would  start  for  home  in  the  early  morning, 
when  the  moon  came  up ;  then  he  changed  his  mind 
and  said:  "At  sunrise  I  will  go."  Not  knowing  when 
he  would  pass  our  camp,  and  thinking  he  might  try 
to  increase  his  day's  earnings  to  the  value  of  one  of 

52 


Starting  ©\>er  tbe  Grail 

our  horses,  we  tied  them  to  the  wagon,  and  slept,  as 
is  customary  in  this  part  of  the  country,  with  one 
eye  open. 

At  sunrise  we  were  awakened  by  the  chant  of  an 
Indian  who  was  tending  a  bunch  of  cayuses  (Indian 
ponies)  in  the  hills  a  short  distance  from  camp.  The 
sounds  floated  into  the  tent  through  the  still  morning 
air,  then  died  away  in  the  distance  as  the  singer  went 
on  his  way  over  the  hills.  Soon  the  town  was  astir, 
and  smoke  could  be  seen  coming  from  chimney  after 
chimney  as  breakfast  was  being  prepared  in  the  little 
houses.  It  was  a  picturesque  sight — the  Indians  col- 
lecting around  our  camp.  They  had  espied  it  from  the 
village,  and  one  by  one  they  sauntered  up  to  satisfy 
their  curiosity  concerning  the  strangers.  There  were 
scantily-clad  children  with  those  still  younger  on  their 
backs,  who  looked  as  if  they  needed  more  protection 
from  the  cold  winds  of  the  early  morning  than  the 
little  cotton  slips  they  wore.  Buxom  girls  in  their 
beads  and  finery,  and  stalwart  youths,  crowded  around 
the  fire.  Mothers  and  fathers  of  the  little  ones  were 
there,  and  even  those  whose  whitened  locks  told  of 
approaching  old  age  were  among  the  number. 

Suddenly  the  attention  of  the  crowd  was  turned  to- 
ss 


<S>v>er  tbc  (Sreat  IRavajo  Grail 

ward  the  river-bed,  where  several  wagon  trains  could 
be  seen  coming  toward  us.  The  Indians,  on  perceiving 
them,  ran  to  the  roadside.  As  the  company  drew 
nearer  we  recognized  two  troops  of  cavalry  mounted 
on  large  black  horses.  Each  soldier  wore  the  regula- 
tion uniform  of  blue,  a  broad-brimmed  hat,  and,  with 
a  carbine  swinging  from  the  right  side  of  the  saddle, 
appeared  as  if  ready  for  business  should  occasion  re- 
quire. They  had  come  over  the  trail  from  Fort  Win- 
gate,  the  military  reservation,  where  they  are  stationed, 
in  readiness  to  answer  to  a  call  from  the  surround- 
ing country.  Each  company  was  followed  by  its  am- 
bulance and  heavy  pack  mules,  who  showed  their 
strength  at  every  step,  as  they  carried  their  heavy 
loads  over  the  deep  sand  of  the  river-bed.  Far  in 
the  rear,  like  a  small  white  dot,  was  the  provision 
wagon  drawn  by  six  mules,  and  guarded  by  ten  or 
twelve  of  the  troopers,  who  looked  as  if  they  could 
protect  their  charge  against  any  band  that  might 
chance  to  hold  them  up.  The  Indians  in  the  pueblo 
gathered  on  the  housetops  and  watched  in  silence 
the  procession  march  through  their  little  town ;  then 
they  returned  to  work. 

Three  miles  south  of  Jemez  is  San  Ysidro,  a  Mexi- 

56 


Starting  ©\>er  tbe  Grail 

can  town  with  a  small  population,  who  lead  the  un- 
eventful, easy-going  life  characteristic  of  the  race.  In 
point  of  industrial  achievement,  however,  San  Ysidro 
is  in  advance  of  the  average  Mexican  settlement.  The 
little  blacksmith  shop,  where  wagons  are  repaired, 
horse-shoeing  being  a  rare  occurrence,  was  certainly  a 
novelty  in  this  part  of  the  country  ;  while  the  primi- 
tive mill  near  by,  whose  stone  derived  its  power  from 
a  vertically-mounted  turbine,  was  unique  in  the  ex- 
treme, and  would,  no  doubt,  excite  the  interest  of 
some  of  the  engineers  of  the  Niagara  Falls  power 
companies. 

Just  out  of  the  town  are  many  sparkling  alkali 
springs.  These  look  very  inviting  to  the  thirsty  trav- 
eller ;  but  one  swallow  would  cause  him  much  suffering 
and  greater  thirst,  as  the  water  nearly  tans  the  tongues 
and  mouths  of  those  who  drink  it.  Cattle  in  the 
vicinity  occasionally  drink  the  water  in  small  quanti- 
ties without  any  noticeable  ill  effects,  while  those 
from  other  sections,  drinking  it  for  the  first  time,  are 
prostrated. 

Across  Salt  Creek,  the  narrow  canon  we  entered 
forms  a  picturesque  and  romantic  guide  for  the  road. 
Perpendicular  ledges  of  rock  extend  on  either  side  to 

59 


©\>er  tbe  (Sreat  IRavmjo  Grail 

a  height  of  two  hundred  feet,  and  in  the  rugged  cliffs 
were  perched,  here  and  there,  brown  eagles. 

At  the  end  of  the  canon  the  road  ascends  very 
abruptly  to  the  divide.  Here  it  was  that  three  Navajos 
rode  up,  keeping  by  our  side  for  some  distance.  They 
had  just  traded  their  last  horse  at  the  pueblos  along 
the  Rio  Grande,  and  were  returning  home,  their  pockets 
filled  with  silver  and  beads,  the  proceeds  of  the  trade. 
When  they  passed  on  ahead,  our  team  being  unable  to 
keep  pace  with  their  horses,  we  noticed  that  one  of  the 
three  always  kept  his  eyes  in  our  direction.  When  he 
tired  another  turned  in  his  saddle,  and  so  on,  until  they 
disappeared  over  the  ridge.  They  evidently  feared  we 
might  hold  them  up  from  behind,  not  an  uncommon 
trick  of  the  Mexicans  ;  and,  as  they  carried  with  them 
the  proceeds  of  their  year's  labor,  they  would  take  no 
chances. 

A  steep,  rocky  hill  leads  to  the  top  of  the  next  divide, 
and  here  the  saddle  pony  again  proved  his  usefulness 
by  helping  the  team  draw  the  heavy  load  to  the  top  of 
the  hill.  A  half-hitch  was  put  in  the  pommel  of  his 
saddle,  and,  with  the  other  end  of  the  rope  attached  to 
the  pole  of  the  wagon,  he  pulled,  with  all  his  strength, 

until  we  reached  the  summit. 

60 


Starting  ©ver  tbe  Grail 

Twenty  miles  westward  stands  Cabezon  Peak,  in  the 
broad  valley  of  the  Puerco.  High  mountains  all  around 
break  up  the  plains  ;  and  in  deep  canons,  often  at  a 
depth  of  two  thousand  feet,  run  streams  which  for  ages 
have  cut  their  way  through  the  thick  layers  of  lava, 
sandstone,  and  clays,  forming  perpendicular  cliffs,  preci- 
pices, and  buttes,  worn  by  the  exposure  to  the  heavy 
rains  and  winds  until  they  resemble  ruined  castles  and 
cities. 

As  we  neared  Cabezon  Peak,  it  seemed  to  stand  out 
like  a  monument  of  ebony,  in  the  changing  light  of  the 
setting  sun  ;  and,  in  striking  contrast  to  the  back- 
ground of  eroded  cliffs  and  buttes,  it  formed  a  picture 
at  once  so  vivid  and  beautiful  that  we  gazed  silently  at 
the  grandeur  of  the  sight. 

Nothing  is  more  impressive,  when  travelling  through 
this  lonely  country,  when  the  sun  is  sinking  to  rest,  than 
to  come  upon  a  single  grave  by  the  wayside,  but  a  few 
feet  from  the  trail,  where  some  poor  fellow,  who  has 
died  from  exposure  or  want  of  water,  lies  buried.  Far 
from  any  settlement,  away  from  home  and  friends,  he 
lies  alone ;  the  little  wooden  cross,  with  its  Spanish 
inscription,  being  a  touching  tribute  to  his  memory. 


umi 

Cabeson  anfc  Mestwarfc 


Cabeson  anb  Westward 

Cabezon. — Frontier  Whiskey. — Indian  Ponies. — San  Mateo. — Mexican  Cattle- 
raising. — New  Mexican  Politics. — Pueblo  Ruins. — The  Penitente. — The  Conti- 
nental Divide. 

NORTHWEST  of  Cabezon 
Peak  lies  the  town  of  Cabezon, 
with  its  one-story  adobe  houses, 
its  little  church,  a  store,  and 
one  saloon.  The  population  is 
entirely  Mexican,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  white  man  who 
runs  the  village  store  and  trades 
his  wares  with  the  Indians  for 
articles  of  their  manufacture. 

We  entered  Cabezon  about 
noon,  and,  as  our  stock  of  provisions  needed  replenish- 
ing, we  drove  up  to  the  little  store,  followed  by  several 

65 


©v>er  tbe  (Breat  IRavajo 

Mexicans,  who  had  escorted  us  from  the  outskirts  of 
the  town.  The  store  is  the  regular  general  store  of  the 
western  Mexican  villages,  well  supplied  with  groceries, 
drygoods,  hardware,  harness,  and  grain  ;  and,  in  addi- 
tion to  his  other  duties,  the  storekeeper  is  postmaster 
of  the  place,  from  which  the  mail  goes  out  once  a  week 
to  the  nearest  railroad  town. 

There  was  the  usual  array  of  shooting  irons  behind 
the  counter,  better,  by  far,  than  a  watchdog.  From  the 
rafters  hung  coffee-pots,  frying-pans,  pails,  sheep-shears, 
etc.  In  one  corner,  at  the  end  of  the  long  counter, 
was  a  pile  of  rifles  and  carbines,  some  in  their  buckskin- 
fringed  cases,  having  been  traded  by  the  Indians  for 
provisions,  at  times  when  their  crops  failed  to  yield  a 
sufficient  livelihood,  and  when  provisions  were  of  more 
value  to  them  than  were  their  grins.  The  stocks  of  some 

O 

were  bound  with  rawhide  to  keep  them  together ;  while 
others,  in  a  better  state  of  preservation,  were  ornamented 
with  brass-headed  tacks,  and  engraved  with  the  private 
marks  of  their  former  owners.  Some  had  been  fired  so 
many  times  that  the  rifling  was  entirely  worn  away. 

A  lot  of  idle  Mexicans  had  collected  around  the 
place,  apparently  with  no  motive  other  than  to  have 
a  good  rest  (this  seems  characteristic  of  the  race), 

66 


Cabeson  anfc  Westward 

and  to  satisfy  their  curiosity  ;  for  when  a  stranger  ap- 
pears in  their  midst  they  are  all  attention — leaving, 
for  a  few  moments,  the  support  of  the  counter,  and 
becoming,  for  the  time,  really  animated  as  they  start 
in  to  catechize  him.  They  watch  his  every  step ; 
look  over  his  outfit ;  inquire  the  whereabouts  of  his 
camp  ;  whether  his  horses  are  tired — this  last  not  to 
be  of  assistance  in  case  one  needs  a  lift,  but  merely 
out  of  curiosity.  They  ask  where  he  is  going,  and 
whence  he  comes.  While  we  were  going  through 
this  customary  examination,  a  young  fellow  rode  rap- 
idly up,  having  spurred  his  ill-fed  horse  into  a  run. 
In  front  of  the  store  he  pulled  him  up  short,  with  the 
aid  of  a  Mexican  bit,  and  dismounted,  much  to  the 
enjoyment  of  those  sitting  around  the  door.  He  had 
evidently  heard  there  were  strangers  in  the  town,  and 
had  hastened  to  the  store  to  be  present  at  the  general 
inspection. 

It  was  here  we  saw  the  first  Navajos  in  any  great 
numbers.  Many  of  them  were  wandering  through  the 
streets,  and  standing  around  the  corrals,  looking  after 
their  horses.  Here  and  there,  squaws  rode  along, 
sitting  astride  in  perfectly  natural  positions  in  their 

saddles ;     for    in     Indian     equestrian     circles     the    side- 

69 


tbe  (Breat  IRavajo  Grail 

saddle  is  unknown,  a  woman  often  riding  forty  miles 
a  day  with  ease  and  without  fatigue.  Some  had 
large  rolls  of  blankets,  which  they  had  just  finished, 
and  were  taking  them  to  the  store  to  trade  for  pro- 
visions. 

On  a  hilltop  overlooking  the  town  was  an  encamp- 
ment of  seven  Navajos,  who  were  out  on  a  horse-selling 
expedition.  They  were  reclining  against  their  saddles, 
that  had  been  thrown  on  the  ground  at  the  head  of 
their  temporary  beds,  which  they  had  made  by  hollow- 
ing out  the  sand  and  spreading  their  saddle-blankets 
thereon.  Near  by  sat  a  young  fellow,  stripped  to  the 
waist  in  the  cool  breeze,  mending  with  sinew  his  shirt, 
which  he  had  torn  while  riding  through  the  brush 
after  a  horse  that  had  strayed  from  the  bunch. 

•Sam  at  once  joined  them,  and  inquired  as  to  the 
prospects  of  getting  water  and  the  condition  of  the 
grass  on  the  road  to  San  Mateo,  our  next  stopping- 
place.  He  asked  also  the  price  of  a  saddle  one  of 
the  men  was  leaning  against.  At  this  the  expressions 
on  their  faces  changed  to  serious  ones.  The  leader 
refused  to  have  the  saddle  examined,  and  told  Sam 
something  in  Navajo,  which  he  interpreted :  "  He  no 

sell ;  he  need  saddle  to  go  home."     We  were  not  long 

70 


Cabeson  anfc  Westwarfc 

deceived  by  this  sophistry,  however,  the  real  reason 
being  too  apparent.  Under  each  saddle  was  a  bottle 
of  whiskey,  and  they  wanted  to  take  no  chances  of 
falling  in  with  a  Government  spy,  who  would  deprive 
them  of  their  much-cherished  treasure. 

The  Indians  are  very  fond  of  white-man's  whiskey, 
as  they  call  it.  This  is  not  surprising,  considering  the 
exposure  they  have  to  endure,  as  in  the  coldest  weather 
they  are  very  lightly  clad.  Their  apparel  consists  gen- 
erally of  a  shirt  open  down  the  front,  leaving  the  chest 
exposed ;  a  breechcloth,  leggins,  and  moccasins.  Over 
these  thin  garments  a  blanket  carelessly  is  thrown,  mak- 
ing a  most  picturesque  object  of  the  wearer.  Their 
heads  are  usually  encircled  by  a  handkerchief,  in  which 
is  rolled  up  a  little  money,  tobacco,  buttons,  sinew,  or 
other  small  possessions. 

The  Indians'  method  of  obtaining  their  toddy  from 
the  storekeepers  is  to  give  a  Mexican  some  money 
with  which  to  buy  the  article.  The  Mexican  is  then 
given  his  choice  of  half  the  money  or  half  the  whiskey, 
which  tastes  like  a  combination  of  kerosene  oil  and 
tobacco,  and  it  is  not  at  all  to  be  wondered  at  that 
white-man's  whiskey  makes  the  Indian  crazy. 

The    bunch    of    ponies,    or   cayuses,    in    the    village 

73 


<§>\>er  tbe  Great  IRavajo  Grail 

corral  near  by  had  been  brought  in  to  sell  to  the 
Mexicans.  They  were  all  fine  saddle  ponies,  only  half 
broken.  These  horses  sometimes  develop  queer  traits 
in  their  training.  What  is  known  as  "busting  a 
bronco"  is  not  practised  among  the  Indians.  If  a 
horse  bucks  when  the  saddle  is  put  on  him  a  rope 
with  a  slipknot  on  it  is  put  around  his  neck  and  he 
is  choked  down.  During  the  treatment  he  thus  re- 
ceives in  being  thrown  one  would  think  his  end  had 
come ;  but,  his  air  supply  being  cut  off,  he  soon  has 
enough  bucking,  and  what  little  he  does  afterward  is 
not  at  the  expense  of  the  rider.  These  ponies  are  as 
sure-footed  as  the  mountain  sheep,  going  up  and  down 
the  nearly  perpendicular  sides  of  a  canon  without  a  slip. 
They  are  typical  cow-ponies,  and,  when  broken,  under- 
stand the  art  of  driving  cattle  as  well  as  do  their 
riders.  They  are  careful  where  they  step,  cleverly 
avoiding  soft  ground  and  gopher  burrows  ;  and  when 
settling  down  to  a  fox-trot  they  can  travel  from  sun- 
rise to  sunset  over  the  roughest  stretch  of  unbroken 
country,  where  the  sand  covers  their  hoofs  at  every 
step.  When  striking  the  rocks  of  the  mountains  they 
can  carry  their  riders  or  packs,  whichever  the  case 
may  be,  with  ease  and  safety,  and  when  reaching  a 

74 


Cabeson  anfc  Westward 

deep  ford  they  can  swim  in  the  swiftest  current. 
When  a  wagon  is  stranded,  and  the  team  unable  to 
start,  the  pony  is  ready  to  help  ;  and  when  a  half- 
hitch  is  put  on  the  pommel  of  his  saddle,  and  the 
other  end  of  the  rope  is  attached  to  the  pole  of  the 
wagon,  he  will  pull  until  the  cinches  break  or  some- 
thing moves.  He  is  always  well,  and  seems  to  enjoy 
his  experiences,  whether  ridden  by  a  tenderfoot  around 
a  summer  resort,  or  when  aiding  in  the  "killins" 
(shooting  scrapes)  of  the  cowboys  over  their  stolen 
cattle.  If  his  rider  stays  in  the  saddle  on  a  cold 
morning,  which  is  usually  begun  with  a  spell  of  buck- 
ing, the  pony  is  satisfied  to  settle  down  to  work. 
He  can  kick  his  way  out  of  any  bunch  of  Eastern 
horses  in  which  he  might  be  placed,  and,  unlike  the 
latter,  who  would  starve  under  similar  circumstances, 
when  turned  loose  in  winter  he  can  make  his  living 
by  rustling  for  grass  through  the  deep  snow. 

Early  next  morning,  as  the  heavy  mist  was  rising 
from  the  mountain  passes  to  the  north — like  a  ghost 
which,  having  performed  its  mission,  vanishes  before  the 
morning  sunlight — we  broke  camp,  and,  with  our  blank- 
ets still  around  us,  turned  westward  toward  Willow 
Springs  against  a  wind  that  penetrated  to  the  bone. 

77 


©\>er  tbe  (Sreat  IRavmjo  ZTrail 

Near  the  road,  a  band  of  Navajos  was  encamped, 
huddling  together  around  the  camp-fire,  the  flames 
of  which  were  blown  nearly  horizontal  by  the  keen 
wind,  which  caused  them  to  pull  their  blankets  more 
tightly  around  them.  Through  the  country  were  many 
Navajo  farms,  with  their  small  patches  of  Indian  corn 
and  their  corrals  full  of  sheep  and  goats. 

Far  in  the  distance  rose  Mount  Taylor  (or  San 
Mateo),  a  now  extinct  volcano.  San  Mateo  (Sacred 
Mountain)  is  eleven  thousand,  three  hundred  and  eighty- 
nine  feet  above  sea-level,  and  is  of  black  lava,  of 
which  many  of  the  mountains  in  the  vicinity  are 
formed.  In  San  Mateo,  according  to  Navajo  mythol- 
ogy, dwelt,  many  years  ago,  the  giant  Yeitso,  clothed 
in  armor,  and  a  special  terror  to  all  who  came  within 
his  realm.  Two  Navajo  boys  (twins)  were  travelling 
through  the  country,  alone,  in  search  of  their  father, 
so  goes  the  legend.  They  met  the  Sun,  who  told 
them  of  Yeitso  and  how  they,  could  slay  the  monster 
while  he  was  drinking  at  the  spring  of  Tho'satho. 
The  Sun  further  told  the  boys  he  would  help  them 
by  knocking  off  the  giant's  armor  with  a  great  thun- 
derbolt. When  they  reached  the  spring,  they  saw  the 
giant  stooping  over  it,  drinking.  Yeitso,  on  perceiving 

78 


Cabeson  anfc  Westward 

them,  hurled  a  thunderbolt  at  them;  but,  seeing  it 
coming,  they  dropped  to  the  ground,  and  it  passed 
over  them.  Every  one  of  the  giant's  missiles  was 
thus  evaded,  until  he  had  no  more ;  then  the  promised 
bolt  came  down  from  the  Sun  and  rent  his  armor, 
and  the  boys  fell  on  the  naked  giant  and  cut  him  to 
pieces.  They  cut  off  his  head,  and  hurled  it  a  distance, 
when  it  was  transformed  into  a  hill,  which  stands  to 
this  day,  and  is  known  as  El  Cabezon,  the  peak  we 
had  passed  but  the  day  before.  The  great  torrent  of 
blood  that  flowed  coagulated  into  black  rock,  and  can 
still  be  seen  on  the  tops  of  the  mesas  around  San 
Mateo.  This  legend  can  be  found  in  full  among  the 
works  of  Dr.  Washington  Matthews,  and  a  perusal  of 
it  will  well  repay  the  reader. 

When  we  camped  for  dinner,  an  old  Mexican,  riding 
over  the  plain,  reined  in  his  horse  as  he  reached  our 
camp,  and  dismounted.  He  took  the  saddle  from  the 
pony,  and,  putting  a  pair  of  rawhide  hobbles  on  him, 
turned  him  loose  to  graze.  The  man  sat  watching  us 
until  what  seemed  to  him,  no  doubt,  an  elaborate  meal 
was  prepared,  and  he  told  us  the  experience  that  was 
the  cause  of  his  journey  over  the  mesa.  His  boy,  it 
seemed,  had  been  tending  a  herd  of  sheep  and  goats 

Si 


©ver  tbe  (Breat  IRavajo  Grail 

in  the  hills,  and  when  he  returned  after  a  lapse  of 
two  weeks,  tired,  footsore,  and  hungry,  and  without 
the  sheep,  the  father  found  he  had  been  attacked  by 
three  Mexicans,  who,  after  trying  unsuccessfully  to  kill 
the  boy,  had  stolen  some  of  his  sheep  as  he  retreated 
amid  a  volley  of  bullets,  which,  fortunately,  went  wide 
of  the  mark.  From  a  distance  he  could  see  the  men 
kill,  first  his  dog,  then  seven  or  eight  of  his  flock,  and, 
packing  the  carcasses  of  the  sheep  on  their  ponies,  ride 
off  in  the  direction  of  Guadalupe,  a  small  town  about 
five  miles  south  of  Cabezon.  The  remainder  of  the 
sheep — the  boy  being  too  frightened  to  return  to  them 
— were  left  alone,  at  the  mercy  of  the  wolves  and 
coyotes,  who  are  continually  on  the  watch  for  a  herd  ; 
and  even  when  an  attendant  is  near  they  sometimes 
catch  a  sick  young  one  too  weak  to  keep  up  with  the 
rest  of  the  flock. 

We  shared  our  dinner  with  the  old  man,  who 
seemed  to  prefer  it  to  the  hard,  dry  tortillas  he  carried 
in  an  old  flour-sack  tied  on  the  back  of  his  saddle ; 
and  when  Sam  handed  him  a  piece  of  watermelon, 
which  the  Indians  of  Jemez  raise  in  great  quantities, 
he  looked  pleased  beyond  description,  as  he  said  : 

•"  Bueno  sandia  "  (good  watermelon)  and  fell  to  eating 

82 


anb  Westwarfc 

it.  When  he  finished,  he  stepped  behind  his  horse, 
that  had  just  been  saddled,  and  rubbed  the  rind  over 
his  head  and  face,  seeming  to  enjoy  the  luxury  of  a 
good  wash.  This  novel  ablution  was,  from  all  appear- 
ances, the  first  the  man  had  had  for  some  time.  As 
he  threw  the  rind  away,  with  an  air  of  satisfaction  he 
mounted  his  horse,  and,  with  a  "  Gracias  ! "  for  what  he 
had  received,  spurred  the  pony  with  the  single  spur 
he  wore,  and  rode  off. 

One  of  the  principal  occupations  of  the  people  in 
this  section  of  country  is  cattle-raising,  and  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  typical  Mexican  cowboy,  driving  his 
bunch  of  thin,  wiry  cattle  along  the  road,  on  their 
way  to  and  from  the  grazing  land,  where  he  carefully 
watches  them,  is  not  an  uncommon  sight.  No  cattle 
roam  at  large  over  the  country  here,  as  they  do  on 
the  plains  of  Colorado  and  Texas  ;  and  the  round-up 
is  unknown.  The  reason  for  this  can  readily  be  seen, 
when,  in  a  bunch  of  several  hundred  cattle  the  Mexi- 
can is  watching,  there  may  be  seen  sixty  or  seventy 
different  brands,  representing  as  many  ranches  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  country. 

Cattle-stealing  among  the  Mexicans  is  as  common 
as  cattle-raising  among  the  Texans ;  and  it  is  here 


<S>ver  tbe  (Breat  Wavajo  Grail 

the  sheriffs  and  their  faithful  deputies  are  kept  busy 
ferreting  out  the  whereabouts  of  the  principals  of  the 
"  killins,"  which  occur  as  a  preventive  in  securing  evi- 
dence against  these  young  herders,  who,  being  over- 
ambitious,  have  not  the  patience  to  allow  their  stock  to 
increase  by  honest  means.  With  these  cattle-thieves,  no 
chances  can  be  taken  ;  one  must  act  quickly  in  dealing 
with  them,  or  he  will,  in  all  probability,  "bite  the  dust," 
and  his  bones  be  left  to  bleach  on  the  prairie  sand. 

Among  those  who  are  constantly  looking  up  these 
desperate  characters  is  Thomas  H.  Tucker,  a  deputy 
sheriff  of  Santa  Fe.  Tom  was  thoroughly  fitted  for 
the  work  he  is  now  doing  by  his  experience  in  past 
years  among  the  cattle-rustlers  in  Texas,  where  I 
first  met  him  in  all  the  glory  of  a  cowboy's  exist- 
ence. His  life  has  been  an  eventful  one.  When  but 
twenty  years  of  age,  while  on  a  visit  to  some  friends 
in  southern  Arizona,  the  famous  "Good  War"  between 
the  cattle  and  sheep  men  began.  These  quarrels  arise 
from  the  pasturing  of  sheep  on  the  cattle-ranges.  The 
sheep  eat  the  grass  down  to  the  roots,  so  that,  when 
the  hot  sun  strikes  it,  it  is  burned  beyond  recovery, 
thus  ruining  the  land  for  the  pasture  of  cattle. 
Quarrels  of  this  kind  often  occur,  but  are  seldom 

86 


anfc  TOestwarfc 

brought  to  the  height  of  this  war.  Disinterested  from 
any  personal  standpoint,  save  sympathy  for  his  friends, 
Tom  entered  into  the  fight  with  all  the  enthusiasm  of 
youthful  vigor.  It  was  here  he  was  wounded  in  one 
of  the  skirmishes  and  given  up  for  dead  by  his 
friends ;  but,  rallying  sufficiently  to  crawl  three-quar- 
ters of  a  mile  to  the  nearest  ranch,  he  began  to  recover. 

On  returning  to  Texas,  he  took  up  ranching  in 
the  western  section,  where  a  man's  existence  depends 
largely  on  his  quickness  with  the  gun,  in  protecting  his 
cattle  against  thieves,  who  start  up  in  the  Pan  Handle, 
and  drive  their  cattle,  numbering  two  or  three  head, 
across  the  corner  of  New  Mexico,  picking  up  cattle 
from  different  ranches  along  the  way.  With  their 
increased  herds,  they  then  make  their  way  to  the 
favorite  watering-place  in  the  Hueco  Mountains,  where, 
before  they  can  add  more  to  their  enormous  bunches, 
they  meet  their  fate  at  the  hands  of  Tom  and  his  part- 
ners, who  have  done  more  to  break  up  this  lawless  pur- 
suit than  any  other  ranchers  in  the  country. 

It  was  from  this  life  he  was  called  to  Santa  Fe, 
when,  on  the  night  of  May  29,  1892,  the  sheriff,  Frank 
Chavez,  was  shot  to  death  by  a  group  of  Mexicans- 
members  of  the  famous  "  Button  Gang" — who  were 


©\>er  tbe  (Breat  IRavajo  Grail 

lying  in  wait  for  him  in  the  shadow  of  the  Church 
of  San  Rosario,  not  far  from  the  centre  of  the  town. 
This  atrocious  murder  was  the  outcome  of  political  dif- 
ferences which  arise  in  consequence  of  the  vicious  and 
degraded  methods  practised  by  the  prominent  leaders 
of  both  parties. 

The  "  Button  Gang  "  Consisted  mostly  of  Mexicans, 
organized  under  the  direct  leadership  of  one  of  the 
influential  Republicans,  in  opposition  to  the  will  of  a 
Democratic  secret  society,  known  as  the  "White-Caps," 
and  formed  for  a  similar  purpose.  These  societies 
satisfied  political  ambitions  through  perjury,  forgery, 
embezzlement,  and  murder,  and  protected  fellow  crimi- 
nals from  imprisonment  and  the  horror  of  the  gallows 
to  an  extent  found  only  in  the  Territory  of  New  Mexico. 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  when  Governor  Thorn- 
ton took  office  in  1893,  and  he  appointed  William  P. 
Cunningham  sheriff,  who,  with  Tom  and  Juan  Otero 
as  deputies,  began  to  hunt  for  evidence  against,  and 
a  "  round-up  "  of,  the  "  Button  Gang  "  murderers.  After 
killing  Hipolito  Virgil,  a  member  of  the  executive  com- 
mittee of  the  gang,  as  well  as  being  chief  of  police, 
coroner,  and  school  commissioner  of  Santa  Fe,  the  other 

principal  desperadoes  were  captured  ;    and,  after  a  long 

90 


Cabeson  ant>  Mestwarfc 

trial  which  reeked  with  dishonesty  and  perjury,  they 
were  finally  hanged.  Thus  ended  the  reign  of  terror. 
In  clearing  up  the  case,  the  people  of  Santa  Fe  are 
greatly  indebted  to  the  sheriff  and  his  deputies  for  their 
faithful  work,  and  the  way  in  which  they  handled  those 
outlaws,  who,  Tom  avows,  have  no  fear  of  a  prison  life  ; 
"  but,"  he  remarked,  in  relating  this  experience,  "  they 
don't  like  to  be  hunpf." 

o 

Late  in  the  afternoon  we  reached  San  Mateo,  and 
camped  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town.  The  night,  al- 
though not  unusual  in  this  country,  where,  before  morn- 
ing, it  invariably  becomes  cold,  was  very  unpleasant. 
It  began  raining  during  the  afternoon,  as  we  were 
plodding  along  over  the  country,  the  horses  slipping  at 
every  step ;  the  large  drops  of  rain  transformed  the 
fairly  good  road  into  one  of  slippery  clay.  From  camp 
we  could  see  a  heavy  cloudburst  slowly  approaching 
from  the  mountains  east  of  us.  Soon  it  was  raining  in 
the  cornfields  a  short  distance  away,  and  when  the  wind, 
coming  up  stronger,  lifted  the  heavy  black  clouds  over 
our  heads,  the  rain  fell  in  torrents.  The  trenches  we 
had  previously  dug  around  the  tent,  however,  guided 
the  water  off  as  fast  as  it  came  down  the  side  canvas, 
leaving  the  blankets  dry.  The  night  was  damp  and 

93 


©vcr  tbc  (Breat  IRavajo 

cold,  and  to  sleep  was  almost  impossible.  Any  one 
who  has  camped  under  such  circumstances,  sleeping  on 
the  ground  with  a  stream  of  water  running  along  each 
side  of  the  bed,  can  well  recall  his  experience,  when  the 
tent  is  wet  through,  the  wood  too  wet  to  burn,  and  the 
wait  for  the  morning  sun  a  long  and  tedious  one.  Next 
morning  was  bright  and  clear,  and  the  sun,  shining  in 
uninterrupted  splendor  upon  the  surrounding  hills,  soon 
warmed  the  atmosphere,  and  dried  up  the  drenched 
country. 

Very  early  two  little  Mexican  girls  came  to  camp,  car- 
rying an  old  tin  pail  between  them.  They  stood  watch- 
ing me  light  the  fire,  a  mystified  expression  on  their 
faces,  as  they  said:  "The  Sefiora  !  "  At  this  unusual 
call  the  Senora,  who  had  not  yet  arisen,  put  her  head 
out  of  the  tent  door  and  welcomed  her  little  guests, 
who,  it  seemed,  had  no  part  of  their  greeting  for  me— 
it  was  all  for  the  Senora.  They  had  seen  us  drive 
through  their  town  the  night  before,  and  had  brought 
us  a  pail  of  sour  milk.  Our  breakfast  pancakes,  or  tor- 
tillas, as  Sam  called  them,  were  thus  an  assured  success, 
and  a  great  improvement  over  those  we  usually  mixed 
with  water. 

The  little  girls  remained  in  camp  most  of  the  day, 

94 


Cabeson  anfc  IKIlestwarb 

trying  to  be  of  assistance  to  us  where  they  could.  At 
first  we  could  not  imagine  what  so  attracted  them  to 
the  spot  ;  but  the  reason  soon  became  evident  from 
their  conversation  and  actions.  "  Bonita  Senora  !  "  said 
one.  "  Si,"  said  the  other,  as  she  drew  near  the  object 
of  their  admiration  and  stroked  her  hand.  "  Beautiful 
lady  !"  A  compliment  out  of  the  wilds  of  New  Mexico. 

It  seems  any  one  having  blue  eyes  and  a  light 
complexion  is  considered  beautiful  by  Mexican  women, 
who,  on  Sundays  and  holidays,  powder  their  dark  faces 
until  they  are  perfectly  white ;  then,  when  decorated 
in  their  best  attire  of  dark-colored  calico,  with  their 
heads  covered  with  black  shawls,  making  a  striking 
contrast  to  their  ghastly  faces,  they  repair  to  the  little 
adobe  church  and  worship,  while  the  priest  says  mass 
beside  the  crudely-made  altar  and  the  images  of  their 
saints. 

North  of  San  Mateo  are  the  ruins  of  a  pueblo  like 
many  others  scattered  throughout  the  Navajo  country, 
which,  many  years  ago,  was  the  home  of  the  Pueblo 
Indians.  These  villages  were  probably  abandoned  on 
account  of  the  scarcity  of  water,  which  caused  an  in- 
sufficient food  supply  for  the  subsistence  of  the  increas- 
ing numbers.  This  accounts  for  the  many  pueblo  ruins 

97 


©\>er  tbe  (5reat  IRavajo  Grail 

scattered  throughout  this  barren  region  ;  the  removal 
of  the  Indians  to  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande 
being  a  necessity  for  the  perpetuation  of  the  race. 
Many  of  these  ruins  are  still  in  a  very  fair  state  of 
preservation,  several  houses  being  still  intact. 

The  Penitentes — that  sacrifice-loving,  self-torturing 
order  of  Franciscan  Friars — are  found  at  the  height  of 
their  horrible  practices  at  the  little  Mexican  town  of 
San  Mateo,  where,  as  at  Taos,  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  territory,  another  hotbed  of  the  order,  and  equally 
as  far  removed  from  outside  influence,  they  carry  out 
their  terrible  practice  of  self-torture.  On  Good  Fri- 
day of  each  year  the  canons  of  the  sky-reaching  moun- 
tains in  the  vicinity  of  these  places  ring  with  the  fiendish 
cries  and  weird  songs  which  form  part  of  the  appalling 
ceremony,  in  the  carrying  out  of  which  the  people  seek 
to  do  penance  for  the  year's  crimes,  and  start  anew. 

In  solemn  procession  from  the  little  towns,  in  the 
still,  cold,  early  morning,  they  move  slowly  along  the 
snow-covered  ground,  with  bare  feet  and  partly  un- 
covered bodies,  to  the  clearing  in  the  canon,  where 
one  of  the  order,  having  been  previously  chosen  to  the 
honored  position,  is  crucified  on  the  heavy  wooden  cross 
he  has  carried  to  the  spot  on  his  bare  and  bleeding 


(Tabcson  ant>  Mestwarfc 

shoulders.  Others  carry  rawhide  whips,  and  at  every 
step  they  lash  themselves  until  the  snow-covered  ground 
beneath  their  feet  is  streaked  red  with  human  blood. 

Not  many  years  ago  the  victim  was  fastened  to  the 
cross  with  heavy  iron  spikes,  driven  through  the  palms 
of  the  hands  ;  and  there  are  many  old  men  in  the  com- 
munity to-day  with  deep  indentations  in  their  hands 
which  have  only  partially  healed.  The  crucified  of  this 
generation,  however,  are  tied  with  rope  to  the  cross, 
which  is  less  painful,  though,  in  some  cases,  it  cuts 
through  the  flesh  to  the  bone  before  the  victim  is  cut 
down  from  the  structure. 

Leaving  Mount  Taylor,  we  ascended  the  great  Con- 
tinental Divide,  which,  at  this  point,  forms  the  water- 
shed between  the  Rio  Grande  and  the  Colorado  River. 
West  of  the  divide  is  the  famous  rock  formation, 
with  its  weather-formed  spires  of  sandstone,  called  the 
Navajo  Church.  This  is,  in  all  probability,  the  only 
church  the  Navajos  have  ever  attended  ;  for,  unlike  the 
Pueblo  Indians,  who  have  partially  adopted  the  relig- 
ion of  the  early  Spanish  settlers  in  the  country,  the 
Navajos  have  been  pagans  from  time  immemorial — the 
Medicine  Lodge,  not  the  church,  being  the  place 
where  their  religious  ceremonies  are  enacted. 


HID 
<§m  tbe  IResenmtion 


HID 


©n  tbe  IReservation 

Gallup. — Gold  Excitement. — Captain  Que-su-la. — Old  Fort  Defiance. — Gov- 
ernment School. — Navajo  Hogan. — Trading  Post. — Camp  in  the  Heavy  Timber. — 
Navajo  Life. 

A  FEW  miles  west  of  the 
church  lies  Gallup,  an  enter- 
prising little  American  town  on 
the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Rail- 
road. The  principal  industry 
of  the  people  of  Gallup  is  min- 
ing the  soft  coal  that  crops  out 
on  the  hillsides  for  miles  around. 
Much  of  this  coal  is  shipped 
from  the  railroad  station — the 
most  prominent  building  in  the 
town — farther  west,  to  California. 

At  the  time  of  our  arrival  in  Gallup  the  little  town 

105 


tbe  (Breat  IRavajo  Grail 

seemed  in  an  unusual  state  of  excitement,  as  the  possi- 
bilities for  suddenly  becoming  rich  were  discussed  by 
young  and  old.  Gold  was  the  theme  on  all  sides- 
gold  in  the  Navajo  country — and  townspeople  and 
Indians  were  equally  excited  over  the  outcome  of  the 
much-debated  question. 

It  seems  the  presence  of  gold  in  the  Carriso  Moun- 
tains, in  the  northern  part  of  the  reservation,  has  been 
known  for  years;  but,  until  recently,  the  Indians  have 
never  allowed  prospectors  to  enter.  At  this  time,  how- 
ever, through  some  of  the  Senators  at  Washington,  a 
tract  in  the  mountains  had  been  leased  from  the  Nava- 
jos,  and  work  was  about  to  be  carried  on.  Nuggets, 
claimed  to  have  been  brought  from  the  Carrisos,  were 
exhibited  throughout  the  town  ;  but  whether  they  had 
been  found  in  the  tracts  leased  from  the  Indians,  or 
been  brought  from  the  Cochiti  district,  or  the  famous 
Cripple  Creek  region — so  appropriately  named  on  ac- 
count of  the  number  of  financial  cripples  it  has  produced 
—is  hard  to  tell.  The  greatest  possible  secrecy  seemed 
to  be  maintained  concerning  the  treasure-land.  Several 
claimed  to  know  where  the  metal  could  be  found  in  laro-e 

o 

quantities  ;  but,  in  many  cases,  their  fear  of  the  Indians 

seemed  to  be  greater  than  their  love  for  fortune. 

1 06 


' 


©n  tbe  IResenmtion 

Parties  were  all  the  while  making  preparations  to 
start  for  "  Aladdin's  Cave  "  as  soon  as  word  was  received 
from  the  mountains.  Freighters  were  holding  their 
heavy  teams  in  readiness  to  carry  provisions  to  the  pro- 
spective mining  camps ;  expecting  to  return  over  the 
hot,  sandy  plains  and  rough  mountain  roads  to  Gallup, 
heavily  laden  with  ore. 

The  Indians  about  the  town  inquired  of  the  stranger, 
starting  for  the  reservation,  whether  he  was  "gold 
man  "  or  not,  with  a  view  to  ascertaining  the  numbers 
about  to  be  transported  to  the  treasure  section. 

Why  these  gold  mines,  which,  at  their  best,  only  form 
a  good  medium  of  exchange  for  the  capitalist  and  land 
speculators,  should  cause  so  much  excitement,  is  merely 
conjecture,  as  every  dollar's  worth  of  gold  taken  out  of 
the  mountains  in  the  surrounding  country  has  cost  ten  ; 
but,  as  in  all  such  cases,  the  gold  excitement  seemed  to 
have  turned  the  heads  of  the  whole  community. 

In  addition  to  Gallup's  several  stores,  which  denote 
a  prosperous  town,  is  the  Trading  Post,  where  Navajo 
goods  of  every  description  and  variety  are  seen,  having 
been  brought  in  from  all  parts  of  the  reservation  by  the 
Indians,  who  think  nothing  of  a  three  or  four  days'  trip 
to  town,  on  their  ponies,  and  home  again,  with  the  pro- 

109 


tbe  (Breat  IKavajo 

visions  and  trinkets  they  have  received  in  exchange  for 
their  goods. 

The  barrooms  of  the  hotels  contain  the  familiar  faro, 
roulette,  and  sweat  layouts,  so  characteristic  of  the  West- 
ern saloon  ;  but,  in  spite  of  these  varied  amusements, 
one  misses  the  all-absorbing  keno,  which  affords  so  much 
pleasure  to  the  cosmopolitan  gatherings  in  the  larger 
resorts  of  the  Southwest.  These  games  seem  to  fill  a 
necessary  place  with  the  miners  and  cattlemen  who  come 
to  town,  now  and  then,  to  paint  it  red  ;  but  when,  at  the 
end  of  their  sprees  on  regular  Arizona  tanglefoot,  they 
are  pulled  together  by  their  friends  and  started  on  their 
homeward  journeys,  they  wake  to  realize  that  they— 
not  the  town — have  been  painted. 

The  four  little  churches,  with  a  fifth  in  the  course 
of  construction,  show  the  progress  the  people  are 
making  in  spiritual  work.  There  are,  however,  many 
people  in  town  who  do  not  look  favorably  upon  Chris- 
tianity, which  was  quite  evident  from  an  incident  which 
occurred  on  the  main  street  one  Sunday  afternoon, 
when  two  missionaries — one  a  tall  man,  with  a  full 
beard  reaching  to  his  belt,  the  other  a  short,  smooth- 
faced man — attempted  to  hold  services  before  a  group 
of  miners.  After  a  short  sermon,  followed  by  a  hymn 


©n  tbe  IResenmtion 

of  the  Moody  and  Sankey  type,  in  which  the  leaders 
were  the  only  participants,  both  knelt  to  pray,  when 
some  one  in  the  crowd  threw  a  package  of  lighted  fire- 
crackers around  them,  and,  in  the  racket  which  followed, 
a  large  Newfoundland  dog  was  set  upon  them.  Things 
growing  a  little  too  hot,  they  no  doubt  thought  it  time 
to  seek  a  more  fertile  field  for  their  operations,  and 
left  in  disgust. 

The  large,  well-lighted,  roomy,  brick  school-house 
on  the  hillside,  where  a  corps  of  five  teachers  work 
diligently  with  the  children  under  their  care,  would 
do  justice  to  a  town  five  times  its  size,  and  is  cer- 
tainly a  credit  to  the  community. 

On  the  outskirts  of  the  town  is  the  calaboose,  or 
jail,  which  is  ruled  over  by  the  single  town  marshal, 
whose  duties,  by  the  way,  are  not  very  arduous. 

Another  building  of  interest  in  the  town  is  the 
courthouse,  which  is  just  large  enough  to  accommodate 
the  judge,  attorneys,  witnesses,  and  prisoners ;  while 
the  interested  spectators  catch  a  word  and  a  glimpse 
of  the  proceedings  now  and  then  while  crowding 
around  the  door,  outside. 

The  six-shooter  is  as  yet  the  only  fire  alarm  in 
the  place  ;  but  when  emptied  into  the  air  at  midnight 

"3 


<§>v>er  the  (Breat  IRavajo  Grail 

it  acts  with  great  efficiency  in  arousing  the  people 
throughout  the  valley,  who  rush  to  the  scene  of  the 
fire,  with  buckets  in  hand,  to  aid  in  extinguishing 
the  flames. 

The  trading  store,  the  general  hanging-out  place 
of  the  Indians  for  miles  around,  is  a  most  interesting 
place.  Groups  of  men  and  women  stand  around  the 
store  at  all  hours  of  the  day  ;  those  having  articles  to 
dispose  of  dealing  with  the  trader,  who  gives  of  his 
stock  of  groceries,  shawls,  calicoes,  and  cheap  blankets 
of  Eastern  manufacture,  for  the  blankets,  skins,  and 
wool  of  the  Navajos.  A  squaw  who  has  brought  in 
some  blankets  and  two  or  three  sheep  and  goat  skins 
from  the  reservation  will  step  up  and  offer  them  to 
the  trader,  who,  in  turn,  weighs  out  some  sugar,  puts 
in  a  package  of  coffee,  takes  down  from  the  shelf  a 
roll  of  calico,  and,  tearing  off  as  much  as  she  wants, 
gives  them  to  her.  He  then  tells  her,  in  Navajo, 
that  is  the  end  of  his  hospitality,  and,  turning  to  his 
assistant,  says:  "I  will  hand  her  over  to  you;  there 
are  forty-five  cents  due  her  yet."  The  assistant  fin- 
ishes the  deal  by  throwing  in  some  trinkets.  The 
squaw,  feeling  well  satisfied  with  the  trade,  takes  up 

her  belongings,  wraps  them  in  her  shawl,  and  saunters 

114 


<§>n  tbc  ffieseroation 

out    of    the    store    with    an    air    of    happiness — not    so 
apparent  on  the  faces  of  the  Indians  looking  on. 

At  the  store  is  Jim,  a  good  old  soul  of  sixty  sum- 
mers, who  knows  everybody  for  miles  around  ;  knows 
their  characteristics,  habits,  and  family  history ;  re- 
members every  horse,  mule,  or  cow  with  which  he 
has  ever  come  in  contact.  He  is  an  old  campaigner, 
having  been  in  many  fights  with  the  Indians;  ranging 
in  his  time  from  the  Powder  River,  on  the  north,  to 
the  Rio  Grande  on  the  south.  He  was  in  the  Re- 
publican River  district  in  the  sixties,  when  the  Sioux 
nearly  exterminated  the  Pawnees,  their  meetings  having 
been  occasioned  by  the  warriors  of  each  tribe  endeav- 
oring to  supply  their  camps  with  buffalo  meat  and 
hides ;  at  which  times  the  Sioux  generally  returned 
with  an  abundant  supply  of  Pawnee  scalps  in  addition 
to  their  meat  supply.  He  has  served  in  Uncle  Sam's 
army,  in  Gen.  R.  S.  MacKenzie's  command,  on  the 
Powder  River,  when  he  fought  Dull  Knife  and  his  de- 
tachment of  Northern  Cheyennes,  and  when  it  was  nip- 
and-tuck  as  to  which  would  win.  He  was  present  also 
when  Red  Cloud  and  his  band  were  rounded  up,  and 
when  Crazy  Horse  was  brought  to  terms.  Later,  he 
was  in  campaigns  against  the  Comanches  and  the 


©\>er  tbe  Great  IRavajo  Grail 

Southern  Cheyennes,  who  had  followed  the  herds  of 
buffalo  into  the  staked  plains.  He  ended  his  career 
with  the  army  in  the  Geronimo  campaign  in  southern 
Arizona.  He  has  been  rich  time  and  time  a^ain  from 

o 

many  mining  schemes  in  which  he  has  been  interested, 
but  has  dropped  his  money  through  his  love  for 
the  old  canteen.  He  has  come  in  contact  with  many 
Navajos  in  his  day  ;  but,  for  some  reason,  has  never 
learned  their  language,  being  satisfied  with  that  of  his 
adoption,  abundantly  tinged  with  the  brogue  of  his 
native  isle  of  the  shamrock.  There  were  several 
visitors  in  Gallup  at  this  time,  among  whom  were  a 
middle-aged  man  and  his  son,  who  had  a  camp  at  the 
southwestern  edge  of  the  town.  At  a  butcher  shop 
up  the  street  they  were  trying  to  make  a  trade  for 
a  few  head  of  cattle.  Jim  said  they  were  Mormons, 
of  whom  there  were  quite  a  few  in  town,  "and," 
he  added,  "the  only  thing  they  know  is  horse,  hog, 
and  cow." 

Among  the  frequenters  of  the  trading  store  was 
Captain  Que-su-la,  chief  of  the  Hualapai  Indians, 
of  northern  Arizona,  whence  he  had  lately  come. 
He  had  arrived  at  Gallup  on  his  way  to  Fort  Defi- 
ance, thirty  miles  beyond,  where  he  was  going  to  visit 

TlS 


tbc  IReservation 

a.  Navajo  friend,  whom  he  had  not  seen  for  years ; 
and  he  was  on  the  lookout  for  a  party  about  to  start 
out  in  that  direction  with  an  outfit.  As  our  road  into 
the  reservation  ran  through  Fort  Defiance,  we  offered 
the  big  chief  a  seat  on  our  bale  of  hay  in  the  back  of 
the  wa^on,  and  started  out  of  town  with  this  latest 

o 

addition  to  our  party. 

Our  departure  was  witnessed  only  by  one  or  two 
miners,  on  their  way  to  work  in  the  early  morning, 
plodding  along  to  join  the  morning  shift  without  in- 
terest in  anything  else. 

Oue-su-la,  who  could  speak  a  little  English,  proved 
a  most  interesting  companion,  and  related  in  Indian 
dialect  many  of  the  experiences  that  made  up  his 
eventful  career.  So  enthusiastic  was  the  recital  of 
his  adventures,  that  we  were,  for  the  time  being,  trans- 
ported to  southern  Arizona,  where  the  Mojave  Apaches 
were  burning  ranches  and  running  off  the  stock  of  the 
settlers,  besides  fighting  the  troops  of  General  McCook, 
whose  scouts  were  under  Que-su-la's  command.  He 
told  of  many  narrow  escapes  and  losses  of  horses  and 
men.  Things,  however,  had  been  evened  up,  when  oc- 
casion permitted,  by  the  killing  of  the  renegades — men, 
women  and  children  ;  taking  their  guns  and  ammuni- 


©ver  tbe  (Breat  IRavajo  Grail 

tion  ;  burnfng  their  rude  shelters  and  belongings  ;  and, 
finally,  driving  those  remaining  across  the  border  into 
Mexico.  When  asked  how  many  Apaches  there  were, 
the  captain  answered,  with  his  characteristic  quickness  : 
"How  many?  Too  many." 

On  our  way  over  the  rolling  upland  toward  the 
mountains,  we  could  see,  far  in  the  distance,  a  column 
of  sand  majestically  travelling  for  miles  along  the  dry 
prairie.  It  reached  perpendicularly  into  the  sky  fully 
five  hundred  feet,  its  diameter  nearly  uniform,  until 
near  the  top,  where  it  spread  out  like  a  toadstool.  It 
slowly  passed  along,  hissing  and  whirling  in  its  course, 
crossing  the  road  not  far  from  the  wagon,  and  passing 
on  in  the  distance  until  it  resembled  a  mere  gray  thread 
reaching  far  into  the  clear  blue  sky. 

After  camping  for  dinner,  we  entered  Gaudy's 
Canon,  where  there  are  many  pinnacles  and  needles  of 
odd  forms  and  design.  The  high  winds,  when  filled 
with  sand  picked  up  in  their  course  over  the  prairie, 
have  the  action  of  a  natural  sand-blast,  and  have  cut 
the  cliffs  into  caves  and  avenues,  many  of  which  are 
connected  by  large  holes  in  the  high  walls  that  form 
their  sides.  These  wind-rocks,  as  they  are  called,  ap- 
pear from  a  distance  to  have  been  cut  out  by  the  hand 


tbe  IReservation 

of  man  ;  but  their  beauty,  and  the  grand  scale  on  which 
they  are  constructed,  show,  on  closer  inspection,  that 
only  the  forces  of  nature,  with  unlimited  time,  could 
produce  such  wonderful  transformations. 

At  sunset,  from  the  top  of  the  last  divide,  appeared 
part  of  the  settlement  of  old  Fort  Defiance,  situated 
in  the  little  basin  north  of  Canon  Bonito.  High 
ledges  of  rock  form  the  sides  of  the  basin,  and  pro- 
tect the  houses  from  the  winds  that  come  up  without 
warning  and  sweep  the  prairie  sand  in  all  directions. 

At  Fort  Defiance  is  the  Navajo  Agency,  which  is 
under  the  supervision  of  Major  Constant  Williams,  or 
"The  Little  Major,"  as  he  is  called,  who  looks  after 
the  welfare  of  the  Navajos  with  untiring  zeal,  and  is, 
in  turn,  regarded  by  them  with  great  esteem. 

At  the  Government  school,  a  large  three-story  stone 
structure,  the  Navajo  children  are  taught — the  boys  farm- 
ing, the  girls  housekeeping  and  dressmaking,  and  both 
a  fair  knowledge  of  English.  Under  the  care  of  faith- 
ful and  diligent  schoolma'ams,  who  supply  them  with 
warm  clothing  and  look  after  them  generally,  the  Indian 
children  live  at  the  agency,  amid  changed  surroundings, 
and  under  different  influences.  Changed  in  appearance 
they  certainly  are,  with  their  hair,  the  Indian's  pride, 

125 


©\>er  tbe  (Breat  IRavajo 

cut  short  ;  and  when  they  are  dressed  in  the  regulation 
school  costume  one  can  hardly  detect  in  the  uniform- 
appearing  crowd  the  individuality  that  characterizes 
each  child  on  his  reservation. 

Our  camp  at  Fort  Defiance  was  in  the  field  north 
of  the  settlement ;  and  as  Oue-su-la's  friend  had  gone 
on  a  trip  into  the  reservation,  he  remained  with  us  in 
camp,  where  he  made  himself  generally  useful.  Many 
a  Navajo,  on  his  way  from  the  reservation  to  the 
agency,  was  attracted  to  the  wagon,  where  he  was 
welcomed  by  Sam,  who  explained  the  details  of  our 
trip  and  gave  him  further  information  which,  unfor- 
tunately, we  could  not  understand.  Que-su-la,  too, 
welcomed  the  strangers,  and,  .although  he  could  not 
speak  Navajo,  he  gave  them,  in  the  wonderful  sign 
language,  which  all  Indians  seem  to  understand,  the  in- 
formation that  they  awaited  concerning  himself.  With 
a  serious  look  on  his  face  he  would  open  the  conver- 
sation. Swinging  his  arm  from  the  west  to  where  he 
sat  meant  that  he  had  come  over  the  mountains  from 
that  direction  ;  pointing  to  the  ground,  then  to  the 
moon,  and  holding  up  two  fingers,  conveyed  the  idea 
that  he  would  remain  in  Defiance  two  months  ;  then 
swinging  his  arm  horizontally  toward  the  west  and 


126 


CAPTAIN    QUE-SU-LA 
(CHIEF  OF  THE  HUALAPAI  INDIANS) 


tbe  IReeemtion 

pointing  to  the  ground  meant  he  would  return  to  his 
people  at  the  end  of  that  time.  Often  during  the  fol- 
lowing three  days  he  went  through  these  explanations 
to  curious  visitors,  who  solemnly  watched  the  chief  tell 
his  story,  and,  in  turn,  told  him  of  themselves.  At  the 
end  of  these  conversations  the  Indians  would  turn  in 
their  saddles,  dig  their  ponies  with  their  heels,  and  ride 
off  to  the  little  store  in  the  centre  of  the  settlement. 

This  store  seemed  a  very  attractive  place  to  the 
Indians,  as  they  formed  themselves  into  groups  around 
the  door.  The  older  ones  sat  there  apparently  wait- 
ing for  something  out  of  the  ordinary  to  turn  up,  and 
on  the  lookout  for  some  young  buck  to  ride  in  from 
the  mountains  with  blankets  and  skins  to  sell,  when 
they  would  take  him,  with  his  lately-acquired  money, 
behind  the  store  building  in  the  shade  and  start  a 
quiet  game  of  koon-kan,  a  game  of  cards  the  Indian 
has  learned  from  his  Mexican  neighbors.  Sometimes 
groups  of  as  many  as  thirty-five  or  forty  will  stand 
about,  expectantly  watching  the  players,  ready  to  laugh 
at  the  one  whose  luck  has  turned.  Some  of  these  by- 
standers become  so  interested  that  they  reach  over  the 
players,  who  sit  on  a  blanket  on  which  the  cards  are 
placed,  and,  taking  silver  buttons  from  their  moccasins, 

129 


<S>v>er  tbc  (Brcat  IRavaJo  Urail 

or  earrings  from  their  ears,  throw  them  on  the  cards, 
which  are  then  covered  by  their  value  in  money,  or 
by  articles  of  equal  worth.  Anything  a  man  may 
possess  is  liable  to  be  put  on  a  card — from  beads, 
knives,  or  buttons,  to  blankets  and  horses,  the  latter 
representing  five  dollars  a  head.  When  the  financial 
standing  of  the  group  is  reduced  to  a  degree  where 
matches  furnish  the  stakes,  the  game  goes  on  with  as 
great  energy  and  zeal  as  if  the  players'  lives  were  at 
stake.  The  Indians  find  in  koon-kan  a  fascinating 
amusement,  where,  as  a  rule,  more  time  than  money 
is  lost  ;  and  as  the  former  is  of  little  value  to  those 
who  join  in  this  pastime,  no  one  seems  much  worse 
off  for  indulging  in  its  delights. 

Around  the  koon-kan  group  at  the  store,  eagerly 
watching  the  game,  were  two  or  three  uniformed  In- 
dian police,  who  were  as  interested  in  the  outcome  as 
were  the  less  important  spectators  beside  them.  These 
policemen  assist  the  agent  in  adjusting  differences  that 
arise  on  the  reservation,  and  see  that  the  Navajos  do 
not  drink  too  much  whiskey,  which  is  made  in  the 
mountains  far  to  the  north. 

Next  morning,  as  we  stopped    at    the    store    before 

leaving    Fort    Defiance,    one  of  the    men    of   the    town 

130 


<S>n  tbe  IReservation 

stepped  up  and  asked  where  we  were  going,  and  for 
what.  "  Into  the  reservation,"  I  replied  ;  "  I  am 
going  to  write  up  the  Navajos."  "  How  long  will 
your  trip  last?"  said  he.  "About  a  month  or  so," 
I  told  him.  "Why,"  he  replied,  "I've  lived  around 
here  for  six  years,  and  I've  never  seen  anything  worth 
writing  about  yet." 

Our  stay  at  Defiance  ended  with  a  good-by  from 
Que-su-la,  who,  after  helping  load  the  wagon,  stood 
watching  us  pull  out  of  the  little  basin  and  start  on 
the  road  toward  the  Carrisos. 

We  rounded  the  southern  end  of  Red  Lake,  where, 
under  the  direction  of  the  Government,  some  work  on 
an  irrigating  dam  has  been  done  for  the  purpose  of 
storing  water  in  sufficient  quantities  to  enable  the  In- 
dians to  make  a  livelihood  without  wandering  off  the 
reservation  in  search  of  a  grazing  land  for  their  flocks 
and  herds. 

The  journey  from  Defiance  northward  was,  most  of 
the  way,  an  ascent  over  the  Hogback  into  a  beauti- 
ful, mountainous  country,  with  big  timber,  clear  springs, 
and  running  streams. 

From  time  to  time  we  passed  little  huts,  or  hogans, 
as  these  Navajo  dwellings  are  called.  The  most  com- 

133 


©ver  tbe  (Breat  1flava]o  Grail 

mon  form  of  hogan  is  a  circular  dwelling  made  of  logs 
of  about  equal  length,  which  have  been  placed  on  end, 
like  the  frustum  of  a  cone.  The  openings  between 
the  logs  are  plastered  with  earth  to  keep  out  the  rain, 
which,  in  this  mountainous  country,  is  almost  a  daily 
occurrence.  At  the  top  of  the  building  is  a  square 
smoke-hole,  directly  under  which,  on  the  hard-baked 
ground,  the  Indian  builds  his  fire.  There  are  no 

o 

windows  in  these  Navajo  homes;  so  that,  with  the 
exception  of  a  small  doorway  which  is  generally  covered 
with  a  much  weatherbeaten  blanket,  the  smoke-hole 
-is  the  only  means  of  ventilation.  There  are  two  other 
forms  of  hogan,  but  not  so  common — one  of  flat  stones, 
the  other  of  logs.  Each  is  cylindrical  in  form,  with  a 
•door  in  the  side,  and  a  flat  roof  with  a  smoke-hole  in 
the  centre.  The  summer  house  of  the  Navajo,  which 
is  occupied  only  in  warm  weather,  is  merely  a  rude 
shelter  of  branches  with  an  opening  to  the  east. 

Our  passing  was  always  the  signal  for  the  members 
of  these  households  to  run  to  the  roadside  and  see 
our  outfit  go  by.  At  some  houses  we  dismounted  and 
went  in  through  the  tiny  doorways,  which  were  some- 
times so  low  that  we  had  to  stoop  in  order  to  get  into 
the  houses.  The  Indians  would  then  proudly  exhibit 

134 


A    SHAVE    IN    CAMP 


<S>n  tbe  IRcservation 

their  treasures  to  us.  Blankets  that  had  been  made 
from  time  to  time,  and  carefully  wrapped  up  in  pieces 
of  old  muslin,  were  brought  out  from  behind  the  beds 
of  sheepskin  that  lined  the  walls  of  the  huts.  In  little 
bags  kept  in  some  inner  recess,  or  hiding-place,  silver 
ornaments  and  trinkets  were  stored  away,  to  be  brought 
out  and  worn  on  festal  occasions,  or  to  be  sold  to 
traders  in  times  of  need.  We  bought  several  of  these 
trinkets,  and  left  the  Indians  smiling  and  happy  in  the 
possession  of  some  coins,  which,  in  time,  they  no  doubt 
carried  to  one  of  the  "  silver  men  "  of  the  tribe,  and 
had  other  ornaments  made  to  replace  those  they  had 
sold  to  the  white  man  and  the  "  white  man's  squaw," 
as  they  called  the  Senora. 

Toward  sunset  we  came  upon  a  log  cabin  in  one 
of  the  clearings.  The  place  was  surrounded  by  Indians, 
who  were  leaning  against  the  sides  of  the  house ;  some 
with  bags  of  flour  and  packages  of  coffee  beside  them, 
while  several  were  eating,  with  apparent  relish,  sticks 
of  candy,  like  so  many  children  around  a  confectioner's 
shop.  The  place  proved  to  be  a  trading  post,  and  the 
trader  and  his  assistant,  a  boy  who  seemed  to  speak 
Navajo  fluently,  were  doing  a  rushing  business.  Indians 
on  their  ponies — men  and  women — could  be  seen  com- 

137 


©ver  tbe  (Breat  1Ra\>ajo  Grail 

ing  from  all  directions,  with  bundles  of  bright-colored 
blankets  and  skins  tied  on  behind  them.  Sam  appar- 
ently knew  them  all  ;  and  we  could  but  wonder  at  his 
unusually  large  circle  of  friends.  It  seems,  however, 
that,  among  Indians,  everybody  knows  everybody  else, 
and  two  meeting  for  the  first  time  will  converse  and 
travel  together  as  though  old  friends.  This  utter  ab- 
sence of  conventionality  is  to  the  highest  degree  re- 
freshing, and  a  decided  contrast  to  the  ways  of  the 
civilized  world,  where  society  has  reached  such  an  ar- 
tificial state  that  sincerity  seems  a  lacking  factor  in  its 
make-up.  We  added  a  few  articles  to  our  store  of  pro- 
visions, and  climbed  into  the  wagon  ;  while  Sam,  loath 
to  leave  the  fascinations  of  the  trading  post,  swung  into 
his  saddle,  and  we  started  up  the  mountain  side  in  the 
wake  of  some  "gold  men,"  who  were  on  their  way  to 
join  the  prospectors  in  the  Carrisos. 

Up  the  steep  mountain  road  we  slowly  jogged, 
until  the  trading  post  grew  small  in  the  distance,  and 
the  Indians  surrounding  it  were  distinguishable  only 
by  the  bright  colors  of  the  blankets  they  wore.  We 
went  but  a  few  miles  further  when  sunset  overtook 
us,  and  we  camped  for  the  night  under  the  sheltering 
branches  of  an  immense  pine  growing  by  the  roadside; 

138 


On  tbe  "(Reservation 

with  a  clear,  cool  stream  gurgling  on  its  way  down  the 
mountain,  and  a  sparkling  spring  bubbling  up  on  the 
other  side  of  the  road — an  ideal  camp,  with  shade  and 
water  in  profusion  !  Any  one  who  has  camped  in  the 
lower  country,  on  the  sandy  plains,  where  the  wagon 
forms  the  only  shelter  within  miles  from  the  burning 
rays  of  the  sun,  and  the  alkali  water  of  the  streams 
but  poorly  quenches  the  thirst  of  the  wayfarer,  can 
appreciate  with  what  a  feeling  of  contentment  we 
pitched  our  tent  in  this  mountain  fastness,  and  were 
lulled  to  sleep  by  the  breeze  murmuring  through  the 
lofty  pine-tops,  and  the  water  rushing  over  its  pebbly 
bed  down  the  mountainside. 

The  road  from  here  on  was  alternately  up  hill  and 
clown  the  sides  of  deep  gulches — so  steep  that  on 
reaching  the  bottom  of  one  the  wagon-body  was  lifted 
from  the  truck,  and  had  to  be  unloaded  and  put  back 
in  place  before  proceeding  further. 

At  the  top  of  the  mountain,  in  a  broad  clearing, 
we  met  a  troop  of  cavalry  that  had  camped  there 
for  the  night.  They  were  returning  from  the  Carrisos, 
where  they  had  been  guarding  the  northern  trails  lead- 
ing into  the  reservation,  to  prevent  parties  entering 

the  gold    region    from    that    direction.     Their    mission, 

141 


©\>er  the  Great  IRavajo  Grail 

however,  seemed  to  have  ended  in  nothing  more  than 
an  outing,  and  they  were  returning  to  the  uneventful 
and  monotonous  life  of  a  military  reservation.  Many 
of  the  boys  regretted  that  there  was  not  active  duty 
to  perform  ;  while  the  chief  regret  of  others  seemed 
to  be  in  leaving  beautiful  mountain  camps  for  life  in 
the  barracks — a  life  so  uneventful  as  to  be  hardly  en- 
durable save  for  the  hope  that  an  outbreak  among 
some  of  the  neighboring  tribes  might  soon  occur,  when 
they  could  follow  the  trail  of  the  renegades  and,  after 
a  hot  chase,  work  their  carbines  to  their  hearts' 
content. 

We  left  the  park  and  the  troop,  to  descend  the 
northeastern  slope  of  the  mountains,  over  a  rocky  road 
through  steep  passes,  with  high  ledges  of  rock  rising 
perpendicularly  on  either  side  of  the  canon,  where, 
down  in  the  bottom  of  the  abyss,  lay  fallen  trees,  the 
victims  of  lightning,  and  high  winds.  The  scenery  was 
so  beautiful,  so  wildly  picturesque,  as  to  be  utterly 
beyond  description.  Farther  on,  we  met  a  second 
troop  of  cavalry,  fortunately  in  a  clearing,  where  there 
was  room  to  pass.  They  were  about  to  join  the  first 
troop  in  camp.  The  presence  of  these  soldiers,  who, 

but    a    short    time    ago,   were    prepared    to    guard    the 

142 


lift 


©n  tbe  1Re0en>ation 

reservation  against  an  influx  of  prospectors  from 
Colorado  and  Utah,  caused  the  Navajos  throughout 
the  country  to  supply  themselves  with  cartridges  for 
their  Winchesters  and  for  the  six-shooters  they  always 
carry ;  and  they  were  ready  to  go  on  the  warpath 
at  the  firing  of  the  first  shot.  Many  an  Indian,  join- 
ing us  in  camp  or  on  the  road,  would  ask  for  car- 
tridges, for  which  they  were  willing  to  trade  everything 
they  possessed,  except  their  guns. 

The  road  soon  descended  in  a  steep  grade,  and, 
before  we  realized  the  situation,  we  were  wedged  in 
a  narrow  passage,  with  a  steep  ledge  on  one  side  and 
high  rocks  on  the  other,  so  close  to  the  wagon  that 
a  person  could  hardly  pass.  At  the  same  time,  the 
pack-train  of  mules  belonging  to  the  troops  we  had 
just  passed  approached.  We  could  move  neither  back- 
ward nor  forward.  The  big,  heavily-packed  mules  were 
corralled,  and  the  jam  became  each  second  tighter 
and  tighter  as  those  in  the  rear  closed  in  on  the 
leaders  and  pushed  them  against  the  team.  Finally, 
one  of  the  mules,  seemingly  aware  of  the  danger, 
pressed  out  of  the  bunch,  jumped  up,  and  climbed 
over  the  rocks,  almost  over  our  outfit,  thus  freeing 
himself.  The  others  followed,  one  by  one,  scrambling 

145 


<§>\>er  tbe  (Breat  1fta\>ajo 

over  the  rocks,  their  hoofs  scraping  at  every  step,  as 
they  sought  to  gain  a  footing  on  the  almost  perpen- 
dicular slope.  One  misstep,  one  slip  of  a  hoof,  would 
have  landed  one  of  these  beasts,  with  his  heavy  pack, 
on  top  of  our  outfit,  leaving  a  splintered  mess  of  the 
wagon  and  ponies  as  material  for  newspaper  corre- 
spondents to  weave  an  elaborate  account  of  a  horrible 
massacre  among  the  Navajos. 

-  In  a  small  clearing  on  the  mountainside,  a  scene 
of  homelike  peace  and  happiness  met  our  gaze  long 
before  we  reached  the  spot.  In  the  distance  was  a 
little  hogan,  with  bright-colored  moving  forms  before 
the  door,  touched  by  the  last  rays  of  the  low-descend- 
ing sun.  Beyond  was  a  flock  of  sheep  and  goats, 
approaching,  apparently,  in  a  solid,  moving  mass — not 
a  single  outline  discernible  until  they  neared  the  corral 
back  of  the  hogan,  where  they  were  driven  in  for  the 
night  by  two  little  Indian  girls,  who  seemed  almost 
too  small  for  the  long  tramp  they  had  just  taken  over 
the  hills  to  drive  the  flock  home. 

In  front  of  the  hut,  before  a  crudely-made  loom, 
sat  a  squaw  weaving  a  blanket  of  bright-colored  wool, 
while  by  her  side,  on  the  ground,  was  a  young  girl 
with  a  spindle,  getting  the  yarn  ready  to  pass  on 

146 


tbe  'Reservation 

to  the  blanket-weaver.  Children  of  all  sizes  ran  in 
and  out  of  the  hogan,  until  we  could  but  wonder  at 
the  sheltering  power  of  this  one  small  house  with  its 
one  small  room,  which  seemed  very  much  like  the 
proverbial  shoe  in  which  the  old  woman  housed  her 
many  children. 

We  joined  the  little  family,  or  large  one  I  should 
say,  as  they  continued  their  work ;  while  the  little  ones 
played  contentedly  around  the  door,  the  laughter  of 
the  children  harmoniously  mingling  with  the  cooing 
of  the  babies,  who,  in  papoose  cradles,  were  leaning 
against  the  sides  of  the  hogan  without  even  their 
chubby  fists,  which  were  tightly  bound  down  at  their 
sides,  to  play  with. 

The  Indian  baby  is  a  wonder,  and  is  as  deserving 
of  special  mention  as  are  his  parents,  who,  by  reason 
of  their  simple,  wholesome,  and  happy  lives,  are  spared 
the  longings  for  the  unattainable,  and  the  dissatisfac- 
tion arising  therefrom,  of  which  their  brethren  of  the 
civilized  world  are  constantly  the  victims.  Happy  is 
the  Indian  who,  at  the  end  of  the  day,  can  sit  by  his 
little  camp-fire,  surrounded  by  his  children,  and  eat  his 
simple  but  satisfying  meal.  No  thought  or  anxiety  for 

the  morrow  ruffles  the   serenity  of   his    happy  present. 

149 


<§H>er  tbe  (Breat  IRavajo  Grail 

He  lives  now.  It  is  always  now  with  him,  instead  of 
to-morrow  as  with  us  ;  and  as  he  contentedly  sips  his 
cup  of  present  happiness,  there  are  no  dregs  of  future 
longings  to  mar  his  enjoyment  thereof. 

It  is  no  wonder,  then,  that  children  of  these  parents 
partake  of  their  nature.  From  the  time  the  little  one 
is  born  until  he  goes  with  his  favorite  steed  to  join 
his  departed  brethren  in  the  happy  hunting-ground, 
his  life  is  a  joyous  one  ;  and  in  all  my  travels  I  have 
never  heard  one  of  these  little  Indians  cry,  except  when 
in  pain.  The  captivity  of  the  papoose  cradle,  in  which 
they  remain  until  old  enough  to  sit  or  crawl  around  on 
the  ground,  seems  unconsciously  to  school  the  little 
ones  against  being  troublesome  in  after  life.  Figu- 
ratively speaking,  the  Navajo  is  born  in  the  saddle. 
His  knowledge  of  horse  life  begins  very  early,  and 
the  step  from  the  cradle  to  the  saddle  is  a  short  one. 
First  a  ride  on  the  mother's  lap  at  a  very  early  age  ; 
then  he  is  promoted  to  a  seat  behind  her  upon  the 
horse,  where  his  remaining  on  the  animal  depends  on 
holding  to  the  mother,  who  seems  to  feel  no  anxiety, 
as  they  jog  along  the  rough  roads,  that  the  child  may 
lose  his  grip  and  fall  off.  The  fact  is,  the  little  one 
returns  from  the  outing  better  and  stronger,  and  one 

150 


<§>n  tbe  IReeervation 

step  nearer  that  supreme  moment  when  he  shall  swing 
himself  into  his  own  saddle  and  ride  off  alone. 

The  mental  development  and  training  of  the  child 
are  derived  from  his  keen  sense  of  observation  and 
natural  instinct  from  the  time  he  crawls  around  the 
hogan,  playing  with  his  pet  prairie  dog  which  he  has 
so  cleverly  caught  out  in  the  mountain  clearings,  or 
watching  his  father  make  saddles  and  bridles,  until 
later,  when  his  knowledge  of  plants  is  acquired  ;  of  the 
trees,  from  whose  bark,  together  with  certain  clays,  he 
derives  some  of  the  brilliant  dyes  that  color  his  blankets 
and  moccasins.  When,  in  later  years,  he  accompanies 
his  father  on  hunting  trips,  he  shows  a  great  keenness 
in  detecting  the  trail  of  the  elk,  and  of  the  deer  that 

o 

furnishes  him  with  his  buckskin  ;  telling  by  the  tracks 
to  within  a  few  hours  the  time  when  the  game  has 
passed  through  the  woods,  to  the  patch  of  grass,  or  to 
the  secluded  spring  where  he  has  often  watered  his 
bunch  of  cayuses  and  his  herd  of  sheep  and  goats. 
Intuitively  he  learns  to  shear  the  sheep,  tan  their 
skins,  and  make  baskets  and  silver-work.  The  Indian 
boy  is  truly  a  prodigy,  showing  a  keenness  and  aptitude 
that  only  one  tutored  by  Nature  alone  could  possess. 
Always  contented  !  Always  happy  !  Such  is  child-life 

153 


<§>v>er  tbe  (Sreat  Iftavajo 

among  the  Indians  !     Would  that  it  were  more  copied 
by  the  too-often  spoiled  children   of  civilization  ! 

Sam  was  at  home  from  the  first,  going  in  and  out 
of  the  hogan  with  the  freedom  of  an  old  friend,  ex- 
amining the  belongings  of  the  family  whom  he  had 
never  before  seen,  and  incessantly  talking  with  them, 
sometimes  as  interpreter  for  us,  but  more  often  on 
his  own  account.  With  Sam's  help,  together  with  the 
sign  language,  in  which  I  was  rapidly  becoming  quite 
proficient,  a  sale  was  effected.  Much  to  the  surprise 
of  the  entire  assembled  family,  we  negotiated  for  the 
loom  with  £he  unfinished  blanket ;  the  carding  imple- 
ments, which  resemble  curry-combs ;  and,  lastly,  the 
spindle  on  which  the  fine-looking  young  squaw  was 
spinning  the  yarn.  How  they  laughed  as  they  dis- 
posed of  one  article  after  another,  getting  vastly  more 
for  the  unfinished  blanket  than  they  ever  dared  to 
hope  it  would  bring  when  completed  and  carried  to 
the  trader's.  They  looked  derisively  at  the  Senora, 
who  they  thought  intended  finishing  the  blanket, 
for  what  good  a  half-made  blanket  could  possibly  be 
was  utterly  beyond  their  comprehension.  It  is  need- 
less to  say  the  blanket  has  never  been  completed,  but 
hangs,  just  as  it  was  bought  from  the  Indians,  among 

154 


©n  tbc  "Reservation 

our  other  collections,  highly  prized  not  only  as  a  curi- 
osity, but  on  account  of  the  associations  connected  with 
its  purchase. 

After  buying  a  young  lamb  from  the  flock  in  the 
corral,  and  filling  the  keg  with  fresh  water,  we  said 
good-by  to  our  friends,  who,  their  industry  being  for 
the  time  broken  up,  stood  idly  gazing  after  us  as 
we  proceeded  along  toward  the  north  just  as  the  sun 
faded  from  view. 


155 


ID 

Hrounfc  ©ur  Camp^jfire 


It) 

Hrounb  ©ur  Camp«]f!re 

Visitors  at  Camp. — An  Old  Navajo  Historian. — Trading. — Toward  the  San  Juan. 

PULLING  the  team 
to  one  side  of  the  road, 
under  a  spreading  oak 
growing  beside  a 
mountain  stream,  we 
set  to  work  preparing 
supper.  Soon  the  fire 
was  blazing  under  the 
tripod  on  which  the  frying-pan  rested,  waiting  for  the 
lamb  to  be  cut.  The  old  coffee-pot  was  in  the  coals 
at  one  side.  As  we  busied  ourselves  getting  supper, 
a  young  Navajo  rode  up  on  his  pony.  He  was  followed 
by  another,  and  so  on  until  they  formed  a  circle  around 
the  fire,  from  which  the  savory  odor  of  frying  lamb  and 

159 


©\>er  tbe  <5reat  IHavajo  Grail 

boiling  coffee  floated  forth  into  the  nostrils  of  the  hungry 
crowd,  and  acted  as  a  magnet  for  every  passing  man, 
woman,  and  child. 

The  Indians  in  the  meantime  had  collected  the 
parts  of  the  lamb  we  had  thrown  away  (they  eat  all 
of  a  lamb  except  bones  and  hide),  and  had  placed  them 
in  the  hot  ashes  to  cook,  each  expectantly  watching  his 
own  piece.  The  women  rested  their  papoose  cradles, 
in  which  good-natured  babies  were  bound,  mummy- 
like,  against  the  trees  near  by  ;  while  little  ones,  a  year 
or  two  old,  ran  in  and  out  among  the  group,  waiting, 
as  did  the  older  ones,  for  their  supper.  As,  one  after 
another,  they  pulled  their  pieces  from  the  fire,  they 
blew  the  ashes  from  them,  and  settled  down  to  do 
justice  to  the  meal.  Babies,  yet  too  young  to  walk 
alone,  clung  to  great  hunks  of  meat,  and  were  now  and 
then  given  sips  of  coffee  from  their  parents'  cups.  As 
we  sat  around  the  fire,  enjoying  our  supper  of  fresh 
meat,  a  young  woman — the  one  from  whom  we  had 
bought  the  weaving  paraphernalia — rode  up,  and,  like 
the  others,  reined  her  horse  beside  the  camp.  She  was 
returning  from  the  trader's,  her  horse  packed  with  pro- 
visions she  had  bought  with  some  of  the  silver  we 
had  given  her.  A  happier-looking  woman  never  rode 


1 60 


THE    BIG    PINE 


Hrounb  ©ur  Camp^jfire 

a  horse ;  and  later,  as  she  dug  her  heels  into  the 
animal's  side,  a  custom  all  Indians  follow,  she  passed 
on  down  the  hill,  her  hair  waving  in  the  breeze,  her 
arms  flopping  at  every  jump  of  the  horse,  and  with  a 
contented,  happy  expression  on  her  handsome  face. 

A  finer-looking  lot  of  young  women  could  hardly 
be  found  than  exist  among  the  Navajos.  Comely,  well- 
built  girls,  strong  as  oxen  and  graceful  as  fawns,  are 
constantly  seen  throughout  the  reservation  ;  a  puny- 
looking  or  sickly  one  being  a  rare  exception. 

One  by  one  the  Indians  left  camp  as  night  drew 
on — all  but  an  old  medicine  man,  who  seemed  to  like 
the  flavor  of  our  tobacco,  which  he  rolled  into  cigarettes, 
one  after  the  other,  and  smoked  with  great  satisfaction. 
As  it  grew  darker,  Sam  piled  large  pine  logs  on  the 
fire  ;  and  when  the  Senora  had  retired  to  her  blanket, 
we  three  sat  around  the  fire,  and  talked  and  smoked  ; 
the  flickering  light  playing  over  the  stern  features  of 
old  Hash-Ke-e-the-tz-ze  (whose  name  translated  is,  "The 
Warrior  Stands  Up " )  as  he  named  over  in  Navajo, 
while  Sam  translated,  some  of  the  chiefs  who  had  gov- 
erned the  tribe  when  the  first  white  man  came  into  the 
country.  There  were  the  three  brothers,  he  said,  Black 
Horse,  Blue  Horse,  and  Horse  Herder,  who  together 

163 


<§>\>er  tbe  (Breat  IRavajo  Grail 

governed  the  people,  appointed  the  time  for  the  dances, 
for  worshipping  in  the  mountains,  and  for  the  hunting 
expeditions  which  furnished  the  Navajos  with  their 
winter  supply  of  buffalo  meat,  which  they  jerked  and 
stored  away  for  future  use.  He  said  that  the  younger 
of  the  brothers,  Horse  Herder,  was  more  friendly  to  the 
pioneers  than  were  the  other  two,  having  acted  as  com- 
panion and  guide  to  Colonel  Dodge,  who  was  Indian 
Agent  in  the  sixties,  and  the  first  white  man  of  whom 
the  Navajos  seem  to  have  any  recollection. 

Between  long-drawn  puffs  from  his  cigarette  the  old 
man  said  that  Dodge  made  his  appearance  at  Tse-a-lee, 
where  he  issued  many  articles  to  the  people  as  a  token 
of  friendship  and  good-will.  These  advances  were,  for 
a  while,  received  with  favor  by  the  Indians,  until  the 
whites  began  to  come  in  greater  numbers  than  the  Nav- 
ajos desired.  The  fine  mountain  country  of  the  reserva- 
tion, with  its  stretches  of  grass  and  plenty  of  water, 
began  to  be  taken  up  by  the  unwelcome  visitors  ;  and 
the  result  was  continual  quarrelling,  and  robbing  each 
other  of  their  stock,  and  destroying  homes.  He  told 
of  the  raiding  that  was  carried  on,  unmindful  of  the 
advice  of  their  chiefs,  between  the  Navajos  and  their 

Mexican  neighbors;  it  being  the  opinion  of  the  Indians 

164 


Hrounb  ©ur  Camp^jfire 

that  any  property  of  the  Mexicans  belonged  to  them 
if  they  wanted  it.  Dodge  called  a  meeting  of  the 
chiefs,  and  told  them  to  tell  the  people  that  the  best 
thing  for  them  to  do  would  be  to  live  peaceably  with 
their  white  neighbors,  who  would  fight  the  issue  to  the 
end,  and  finally  have  the  entire  control  of  the  country 
over  which  they  were  quarrelling. 

The  first  impression  the  Navajos  had  of  the  whites, 
who  were  no  match  for  the  Indians  in  their  games 
or  races,  was  that  they  could  take  the  intruders 
upon  their  backs  and  run  off  with  them.  They  soon 
found  such  was  not  the  case,  however,  when  the  cav- 
alry and  infantry  came  over  the  trail,  camped  at  Fort 
Defiance,  and  began  an  attack  on  the  Navajos ;  ad- 
vaftcing  to  the  canon  north  of  Tse-a-lee,  and  on  to 
Chin-lee,  where  they  were  met  at  night  by  the  In- 
dians, who  were  armed  with  little  ammunition,  their 
principal  weapons  being  bows  and  arrows.  He  said 
that  many  of  the  peaceable  Navajos  were,  at  the 
time,  in  sympathy  with  the  whites,  and  looked  to  the 
officers  to  settle  the  difficulties.  And  to  this  day  the 
old  and  experienced  officers  of  the  army  are  looked 
up  to  by  the  Indians,  on  which  account  they  are  most 
desirable  as  Indian  agents. 

167 


<§>ver  tbe  (Steat  IRavajo  Grail 

He  continued  that,  after  advancing  to  the  canon, 
the  troops  had  retreated  to  the  mountains  near  by, 
where,  after  a  skirmish  with  pickets,  one  Navajo  was 
killed.  When  discovered  next  day  by  the  Indians, 
it  was  found  that  in  taking  his  scalp  the  soldiers 
had  taken  skull  and  all,  leaving  his  brains  exposed. 
The  Indians,  in  scalping,  merely  cut  a  small  disk 
about  the  size  of  a  silver  dollar  from  that  part  of  the 
scalp  containing  the  longest  hair,  leaving  the  skull 
undisturbed.  In  this  instance,  as  in  many  others,  the 
Indians  found  that  the  whites  could  go  them  one 
better. 

As  the  old  man  finished  this  most  interesting  his- 
torical narrative,  which  he  had  treasured  up  in  mem- 
ory for  many  years,  he  stopped  to  light  a  fresh 
cigarette,  and  solemnly  said  :  "  If  Navajo  go  down 
in  the  ground,  white  man  follow  him ;  if  he  go  up 
in  the  air,  white  man  follow  him ;  so  Navajo  better 
behave." 

Sam  piled  more  logs  on  the  fire,  and  the  old 
man  settled  himself  for  another  conversation.  One 
subject  after  another  was  discussed,  until  that  of  the 
surrounding  country  was  broached,  when  he  became 
greatly  animated.  Going  back  to  the  time  when, 

1 68 


Hrounfc  ©ur 

according  to  mythology,  the  mountains  in  the  Navajo 
country  were  made,  the  old  man  said,  pointing  to 
the  east,  that  Tsis-na-dzi'-n-i,  seen  from  Fort  Wingate, 
were  the  first  mountains  made,  and  in  olden  times 
they  were  worshipped  by  the  Navajos.  Tso'tsil,  or 
San  Mateo,  was  the  second  made.  Do-kos-li'd  (San 
Francisco  Mountain),  to  the  west,  was  the  third  made. 
To  the  north  the  mountains  which  first  have  their 
tops  covered  with  snow,  the  San  Juan  Mountains, 
called  by  the  Navajos  Depe'ntsa,  or  the  Big  Moun- 
tain Sheep,  were  the  fourth  made.  Dsil-na'-o-til,  the 
mountain  the  Navajos  used  to  camp  around,  and 
which  is  plainly  seen  from  Fort  Lewis,  Colorado,  was 
the  fifth  ;  while  close  by,  to  the  left,  is  Tso-li'-hi,  the 
sixth  mountain  made.  East  of  Wingate,  A-ki-da-nas- 
ta-ni,  which  means  double  top,  was  the  seventh  made. 
Continuing  in  Navajo,  and  making  his  exclama- 
tions more  emphatic  by  frequent  gestures,  he  men- 
tioned in  the  numerical  order  of  their  completion, 
the  mountains  representing  the  shoulders,  ears,  nose, 
and  arms  of  one  of  the  great  mythological  giants  of 
the  country.  The  picturesque  Son-sa-la  Buttes,  or 
two  stars  lying  together,  which  we  had  but  a  few 
days  before  passed,  were  the  twelfth  made ;  and  the 


©ver  tbc  (Sreat  IRavajo 

Tu-m-tsa',  otherwise  known  as  the  Tuincha  Mountains, 
on  the  top  of  which  are  lakes,  called  the  mountain's 
water,  were  the  thirteenth  made.  Next  came  the 
mountains  representing  the  back  and  the  hips  of  the 
giant.  These  are  known  as  the  black  rocks  in  a  cir- 
cle, which  were  worshipped  in  early  days ;  the  cere- 
monial consisting  of  sprinkling  the  pollen  of  flowers 
on  the  turquoise  in  the  mountain  ;  at  the  same  time 
praying  for  rain,  which,  in  many  cases,  came  the  same 
day.  To  the  west  of  these  are  the  Dsilli-che,  or  Black 
Mountains,  and,  said  the  old  man  resignedly,  as  if  pre- 
paring himself  for  the  ordeal :  "  It  will  take  four  days 
to  tell  all  about  them."  As  Sam  made  this  announce- 
ment, I  concluded,  as  it  was  getting  toward  the 
small  hours  of  the  morning,  that  we  would  wait  for 
further  information  concerning  the  Black  Mountains 
until  the  morrow.  He  could  not,  however,  resist  talk- 
ing a  little  more,  and  chatted  away  for  some  time 
longer,  until  his  voice  grew  weak  and  his  eyes  were 
heavy  with  sleep. 

The  fire  burned  low,  and  as  the  last  note  of  the 
old  man's  voice  died  away  into  silence  he  rose  from 
the  ground  and,  solemnly  nodding  a  good  night,  slowly 
walked  toward  his  hogan,  his  blanketed  form  dimly 

172 


Hrounfc  ©ur 

• 

illumined  by  the  dying  embers,  until  he  was  lost  to 
sight  in  the  darkness  beyond. 

The  following  morning  was  Sunday,  and  although 
it  was  to  be  for  us  a  day  of  rest  we  were  up  at  dawn. 
Even  at  so  early  an  hour,  some  of  our  guests  of  the 
night  before  had  returned  to  camp,  and  were  waiting 
for  us  to  awaken  and  welcome  them  with  a  cup  of 
steaming  coffee  that  Sam  had  just  made.  The  crack- 
ling of  the  burning  sticks,  and  the  low  murmur  of  voices 
around  the  tent,  soon  penetrated  the  canvas,  and  called 
us  from  a  sound,  restful  sleep  back  to  a  knowledge  of 
our  surroundings. 

After  making  the  coffee,  Sam  finished  his  prepara- 
tions for  the  day  by  washing  his  hair  in  the  stream 
near  by,  and,  after  drying  it  in  the  sun,  he  broke  open 
the  leg  bones  of  the  lamb,  and  taking  out  the  marrow, 
rubbed  it  in  his  hair,  imparting  a  glossy  appearance  to 
the  straight,  black  locks. 

The  women,  who  the  night  before  had  appeared 
barefooted,  and  clad  in  a  single  cotton  garment,  were 
decked  in  their  holiday  costumes,  with  ornaments  ga- 
lore. Moccasins  and  black  squaw  dresses,  which  Nav- 
ajo  women  wear  only  on  state  occasions,  such  as  going 
to  the  trader's,  were  donned  in  our  honor.  I  have 

175 


©\>er  tbe  (Sreat  IRavajo  Grail 

several  times  seen  old  women  stooped  with  age,  walk- 
ing over  the  stcny,  mountain  roads,  or  on  the  hot 
sands  of  the  prairie,  where  the  heat  must  have  nearly 
blistered  their  bare  feet,  stop  as  they  approached  the 
trader's,  and  slip  on  their  moccasins,  which  they  re- 
moved again  as  soon  as  the  homeward  tramp  began. 
The  moccasin  of  the  Navajo  women  is  similar  to  that 
of  the  Pueblo,  the  upper  part  having  a  long  strip  of 
buckskin,  which  is  wrapped  spirally  around  the  limb 
as  far  up  as  the  knee. 

Instead  of  cheap  calico  garments,  they  wore  the 
black  native-woven  squaw  dresses,  with  bright-colored 
borders  reaching  nearly  to  the  knee.  On  their  necks 
Avere  many  strings  of  beads  :  both  of  shell,  which  they 
had  obtained  by  frequent  trading  of  horses  and  blan- 
kets with  the  Pueblos ;  and  of  silver,  that  had  been 
made  from  coin  by  some  of  the  Navajo  silver-men. 
Bracelets,  necklaces,  and  rings  of  silver  adorned  the 
arms  and  necks  of  both  men  and  women  ;  and  belts 
made  of  oval  silver  disks  encircled  many  a  waist. 

The  gathering  was  like  that  of  a  gala  or  feast  day ; 
not  because  it  was  Sunday,  for  the  Navajos  know  no 
Sunday  ;  and  as  for  ourselves,  had  it  not  been  for  our 

diary,   we   would    have    been    in    ignorance    concerning 

176 


SPINNING   YARN 


Hrounb  ©ur 

either  the  day  or  date — all  days  being  so  much  alike 
when  travelling,  as  we  were,  among  a  people  who  take 
no  note  of  the  passage  of  time,  except  as  one  season 
gives  way  before  the  coming  of  another,  and  that  in  a 
most  casual  way,  without  special  thought  or  calculation. 

Early  in  the  day  a  fine-looking  young  squaw,  with 
her  baby  on  her  back,  came  to  camp,  and,  placing  the 
child  on  the  ground,  hastened  to  pay  her  respects  to 
the  Senora,  who  was  holding  quite  a  reception,  and  re- 
ceiving all  sorts  of  attentions  from  the  women  of  the 
neighborhood,  who  seemed  to  regard  her  dress  and 
our  manner  of  living  as  very  peculiar.  They  criti- 
cally examined  her  dress,  shoes,  and  hat  ;  and  at  the 
end  of  the  inspection  they  were  seemingly  better  satis- 
fied than  ever  with  their  own  finery  and  gewgaws. 

When  I  asked  the  young  woman  the  sex  of  her 
child  who  was  playing  around  on  the  ground,  she 
proudly  lifted  her,  while  her  face  beamed  with  satisfac- 
tion, and  said  :  "  Atet "  (girl).  This  seemed  strange 
to  me,  for  among  Pueblo  women,  of  whom  I  had  made 
considerable  study,  the  girl  is  lightly  thought  of,  and 
the  parent  is  very  reluctant  about  divulging  her  sex 
to  the  inquirer.  On  the  other  hand,  however,  if  the 
Pueblo  child  be  a  boy,  the  mother  is  more  than  glad  to 

179 


©\>er  tbc  (Sreat  IRavajo  ZTrail 

announce,  "  mucha-cho."  This  special  liking  of  girls 
among  the  Navajos  I  found  to  be  owing  to  the  fact 
that,  when  about  eight  years  of  age,  they  are  usually 
sold  to  some  young  brave  for  from  ten  to  fifty  horses 
— sometimes  more.  After  the  sale  is  effected,  the  man 
allows  his  future  wife  to  remain  with  her  parents  until 
she  is  considered  old  enough  to  marry  ;  which,  unfor- 
tunately, is  often  before  she  is  well  established  in  her 
teens.  After  her  marriage,  the  girl's  future  lies  in 
weaving  blankets,  performing  the  household  duties  for 
her  husband,  and  in  looking  out  for  the  welfare  of  the 
children,  whose  coming  is  always  hailed  with  delight 
by  the  happy  parents. 

The  husband  of  the  young  woman  soon  joined  his 
wife  and  child,  and  at  once  became  friends  with  Sam, 
who  initiated  him  into  the  pleasantries  of  our  camp 
life.  He  inspected  the  outfit,  going  over  everything  ; 
while  Sam  stood  near,  with  the  air  of  part  owner  in 
the  concern,  When  the  man  caught  si^ht  of  the  water 

o  o 

keg  in  the  back  of  the  wagon,  he  suddenly  became 
thirsty,  drinking  cup  after  cup  from  the  keg,  preferring 
it  to  the  clear,  cold,  spring  water  running  within  a  few 
feet  of  camp.  On  his  recommendation  others  joined 
him  until  the  keg  was  nearly  empty,  when  I  began  to 


WEAVING    A    BLANKET 


Hrounfc  ©ur  Camp^jfire 

perceive  the  reason  it  had  become  so  popular.  It  had 
held  whiskey  before  we  bought  it,  and  had  become 
thoroughly  saturated  with  the  liquor,  which  still  im- 
parted a  taste  to  the  water  that  was  anything  but  un- 
pleasant. Not  a  great  while  had  elapsed  when  Sam 
came  to  me  and  said:  '-Say,  Sha-don-e  "—meaning 
brother-in-law,  a  name  he  always  called  me,  but  of 
which  I  did  not  discover  the  meaning  until  near  the 
end  of  the  trip — "this  fellow  sick  in  his  arm  and  want 
some  whiskey."  The  man,  meanwhile,  stroked  his  right 
arm  with  his  left  hand  and  pointed  to  his  right  hand. 
I  knew  that  if  he  had  an  attack  of  rheumatism,  whiskey 
was  the  last  thing  to  prescribe  for  it,  so  I  told  him  : 
"Whiskey  no  good  for  that  kind  of  sickness."  Sam 
told  the  man,  who  immediately  _put  his  hand  on  his 
stomach,  as  if  in  great  pain  there.  From  this,  I,  of 
course,  concluded  that  some  game  was  up,  and  watched 
the  rapid  development  of  his  disease  with  amusement. 
He  had  many  different  affections,  and  made  excuses  of 
all  kinds  to  get  some  whiskey  ;  but  finding  it  of  no  use, 
he  gave  up  in  disgust,  and  after  another  drink  from 
the  water  keg  he  seemed  entirely  cured. 

One   after    another,   Indians   sauntered    into    camp  ; 
some    laden    with     blankets,    others   with    baskets  -and 

183 


<S>ver  tbc  (Sreat  IRavaJo  Grail 

all  sorts  of  their  belongings  which  they  wanted  us 
to  buy.  These  articles  were  spread  on  the  ground 
by  their  owners,  who  showed  off  their  fine  points  in 
a  way  that  would  do  credit  to  an  eastern  trades- 
man. Our  camp  had  become  a  veritable  trading 
post,  and  a  rushing  business  was  carried  on  through- 
out the  day.  I  bought  three  blankets  from  as  many 
different  squaws,  some  silver-work  from  a  young 
girl,  and  a  basket  from  a  fellow  who  was  sitting 
near,  weaving  a  companion  piece  to  the  one  I  had 
purchased.  These  dish-shaped  baskets  are  made  of 
the  twigs  of  the  aromatic  sumac,  with  intricate  de- 
signs of  red  and  black  colored  strands.  The  twigs 
are  wound  in  the  form  of  a  helix  from  centre  to 
periphery.  Besides  being  utilized  as  receptacles  for 
food,  the  baskets  are  brought  into  use  as  drums  in 
some  of  the  medicine-lodge  ceremonials. 

Basket-weaving  is  little  practised  among  the  Nav- 
ajos  other  than  to  weave  this  dish-shaped  form.  The 
Apaches  carry  on  this  work  to  a  greater  extent  than  do 
the  Navajos,  making  baskets  of  a  larger  variety  and  of 
finer  texture  ;  their  ingenuity  and  skill  in  this  branch 
corresponding  closely  to  that  displayed  by  the  Nav- 
ajos in  the  blanket-weaving  industry. 

184 


Hrount)  ©ur  Camp^jfirc 

One  of  the  squaws  here  stepped  up  and  wanted 
us  to  buy  a  blanket ;  but  it  was  altogether  inferior 
to  those  we  had  already  purchased,  and,  in  spite  of 
her  anxiety  to  sell  it,  I  did  not  care  to  add  it  to 
the  collection.  I  noticed  on  her  arm,  however,  an 
unusually  heavy  silver  bracelet  of  fine  workmanship 
and  odd  design,  different  from  anything  we  had  pre- 
viously seen.  "  How  much  for  it?"  I  asked.  "She  no 
sell,"  said  Sam,  through  whom  the  negotiations  were 
being  carried  on.  She  took  it  from  her  arm,  however, 
and  allowed  us  to  examine  it.  It  was  very  heavy,  con- 
taining, as  I  have  since  found  out,  eight  silver  dollars. 
Seeing  she  was  not  to  be  further  pressed  at  present,  we 
turned  our  attention  to  something  else  as  she  put  the 
bracelet  back  on  her  arm  ;  at  the  same  time  eying  the 
coins  her  companions  were  displaying,  as  though  she 
would  like  a  few  also.  Still,  she  was  not  quite  ready 
to  let  the  bracelet  go. 

After  dinner,  the  majority  of  the  Indians  having 
remained  in  camp,  I  thought  I  would  get  a  few  pictures, 
and  brought  out  the  kodak,  which  none  of  these  Indians 
had  ever  before  seen  ;  consequently,  they  held  none  of 
the  superstitious  fancies  concerning  a  camera  that  the 
Indians  around  the  railroad  towns  have.  Sam  told  them 

187 


©ver  tbe  (Breat  IRavajo  Grail 

I  was  going  to  make  pictures,  and  showed  them  some 
I  had  taken  on  my  Pueblo  trip  the  year  before.  At 
first  they  objected,  not  knowing  to  what  terrible  ordeal 
they  might  be  subjected  ;  but  when  I  pressed  the  but- 
ton and  announced  that  a  picture  had  been  taken,  they 
were  quite  willing,  as  well  as  anxious,  to  go  through  the 
painless  operation  again.  When  I  had  taken  several 
pictures,  and  was  about  to  put  the  kodak  back  in  its 
case,  there  was  a  general  murmur  of  dissatisfaction 
among  the  crowd — each  wanted  his  picture.  It  was 
hard  for  them  to  realize  that,  after  the  button  had  been 
pressed  and  all  was  over,  they  could  not  take  the 
finished  picture  out  of  the  box  ;  but  as  photography 
had  not  yet  reached  that  state  of  development,  they 
were  obliged  to  wait. 

Hogans  dotted  the  country,  here  and  there,  in  all 
directions  from  camp ;  and  leaving  the  Senora  with 
the  outfit,  Sam  and  I  started  out  to  visit  the  people 
in  their  homes.  From  one  to  another  we  went,  pick- 
ing up,  here  and  there,  something  for  our  collection. 
Blanket  after  blanket  and  silver-work  were  brought  out 
for  our  inspection  ;  but  when  I  passed  these  over  and 
inquired  about  buying  an  Apache  bottle-necked  water- 
basket  standing  beside  the  fire,  the  owner  looked 

188 


THE    NORTHEASTERN    SLOPE 


Hrounfc  ©ur  Camp^jfire 

amazed  to  think  I  could  possibly  want  it  and  not  his 
blankets.  But  I  did  want  it  and  left  the  house  with 
it  slung  over  my  arm  ;  while  the  Indian,  well  pleased 
with  the  sale,  went  inside  to  discuss  how  he  had  the 
best  of  the  white  man. 

After  we  had  visited  several  houses,  I  asked  Sam 
where  the  woman  owning  the  bracelet  lived.  He  in- 
quired, and  we  soon  found  the  place,  where  the  woman 
was  sitting  before  her  loom  weaving  a  fine,  large  blanket. 
She  was  hard  at  work,  no  doubt  making  up  for  the 
time  she  had  squandered  at  our  camp.  I  noticed  she 
had  removed  the  bracelet  and  her  finery,  and  was  in 
ordinary  attire,  without  ornamentation  of  any  sort. 
Over  the  fire,  and  tended  by  the  woman's  husband, 
were  three  large  cans  of  boiling  corn.  "  He  making 
white  man's  whiskey,"  said  Sam,  to  whom  this  was  no 
new  sight.  The  mixture  is  boiled  for  two  or  three 
days,  then  it  is  strained  and  laid  away  in  closed  jars 
to  ferment,  when  it  is  ready  to  furnish  the  mountain 
Navajo  with  whiskey.  The  vivid  picture  with  its 
mountainous  surroundings  strongly  reminded  me  of 
the  North  Carolina  moonshiners,  who  carry  on  the 
same  practice  up  in  the  mountains  of  that  country.  9 

I  bought  a  blanket  from  the  woman,  then  inquired 

191 


tbe  (Sreat  Iflavajo 

about  the  bracelet.  At  this  she  went  into  the  hogan, 
took  it  from  its  hiding-place,  and  came  out  with  it 
on  her  arm.  She  looked  fondly  at  the  bracelet,  then 
at  the  coins  I  was  offering  in  exchange  for  it.  Still 
she  was  loath  to  let  it  go.  Her  husband,  becoming  in- 
terested, left  the  fire  and  joined  in  the  conversation, 
urging  her  to  sell  it.  Finally,  after  carefully  weigh- 
ing the  subject  on  all  its  points,  she  slipped  the  bracelet 
from  her  arm  and  handed  it  to  me.  Won  over  at  last ! 
Back  to  camp  we  trudged,  just  in  time  for  supper. 

Up  with  the  sun,  and  on  to  the  northward  toward 
the  gold  fields  in  the  Carrisos.  Down  we  drove  over 
the  northeastern  slope  of  the  mountains,  the  timber 
gradually  changing.  The  tall  pines,  mountain  mahog- 
any, and  oak  were  replaced  by  a  smaller  growth,  such 
as  the  alder  and  the  shrubs  known  as  the  aromatic 
sumac.  Further  down  the  slope  the  shrubs  disap- 
peared, scrub  cedar  taking  their  places. 

The  scene  changed,  the  country  became  more  bar- 
ren ;  mounds  of  lava  cropped  out  in  the  sand  at  inter- 
vals, giving  a  darkened  aspect  to  the  landscape.  The 
only  vegetation  in  sight  was  the  sage  bush,  the  Yucca 
Baccata — a  species  of  Spanish  bayonet — and  some  scrub 
cedar.  By  the  roadside  we  passed  a  nest  of  the  Caro- 

IQ2 


Hrounb  ©ur  Camp^jfire 

Una  dove,  situated  at  the  base  of  a  sage  bush,  and  par- 
tially protected  by  it  from  the  heat  of  the  sun.  The 
nest  contained  two  downy  young  ones,  and  was  con- 
structed of  a  few  small  dry  twigs,  the  bottom  of  the 
nest  being  the  warm  sand.  The  parents  flew  swiftly 
about  from  bush  to  bush  in  an  excited  manner  as  we 
passed,  their  wings  whistling  the  clear  notes  by  which 
this  bird  is  so  easily  distinguished  from  all  others  in 
the  vicinity  ;  and  we  wondered  how  long  it  would  be 
before  the  plump  young  ones  would  serve  as  a  meal 
for  some  wandering  coyote. 

As  we  neared  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  the  vast 
plain  between  us  and  the  San  Juan  valley  stretched 
like  a  great  sea  shimmering  in  the  sunlight.  Far  out 
in  this  ocean  of  sand,  like  monuments  of  the  ages, 
stood  side  by  side  the  great  needle-shaped  formations 
of  stone,  Mounts  Bennet  and  Ford. 

The  utter  disinterest  of  the  prospectors  from  Utah 
and  Colorado,  and  the  return  over  the  plain  of  many 
of  those  from  the  south,  brought  our  wild-goose  chase 
to  the  gold  region,  as  well  as  theirs,  to  a  close  ;  and, 
turning  our  backs  on  the  "hoards  of  wealth,"  we  re- 
traced our  steps  through  the  pass  through  which  w^ 
had  just  come. 

195 


IDfl 
flu  tbe  Ibogan 


flu  tbe  Ibogan 

Caught  in  an  Arroyo. — The   Large  Hogan. — Weaving  Blankets. — The  Medi- 
cine-Man.— Witchcraft. — The  Silversmith. — Bear  Tracks. — Tse-a-lee. — Coyotes. 

SEVERAL  days  later,  returning 
to  one  of  our  previous  camps 
under  the  tall  pine,  we  were 
sheltered  from  a  heavy  rain  ;  and 
as  the  lightning  played  savagely 
among  the  mountains  around  us, 
Sam  exclaimed,  "Idni!"  and  in 
explanation  said  :  "  He's  the  god 
of  thunder,  and  is  punishing  the 
people  of  the  earth  for  some 

• 

wrong  they  have  done."  As  the 
flashes  became  more  vivid,  we  thought  it  better  to  move 
from  under  our  tall  protector  to  the  next  clearing. 

To  cut  off  several  miles  of  road,  we  started  over  the 

199 


©\>er  tbc  (Sreat  IRavajo  Grail 

rough  country  toward  Tse-a-lee.  Following  an  ill-de- 
fined trail,  we  reached  the  bottom  of  a  deep  arroyo, 
where  the  sand  was  so  soft  that  the  team  had  all  they 
could  do  to  pull  the  heavily-loaded  wagon  along;  and  as 
the  sides  of  the  arroyo  became  steeper  and  the  water 
in  the  bottom  deeper  from  the  incessant  rains  up  in 
the  canon,  it  seemed  that  the  sooner  we  made  prepara- 
tions to  get  out  of  the  trap  the  better.  At  an  opening 
on  ahead,  one  of  the  sides  of  the  arroyo  sloped  off  at 
an  angle  of  about  sixty  degrees  ;  and  working  our  three 
horses  into  service,  we  jumped  out  of  the  wagon  and 
tried  to  urge  them  up  the  sandy  incline.  About  half- 
way up  the  hill,  the  wagon  became  wedged  so  tightly  in 
the  sand  that  it  was  impossible  for  the  horses  to  make 

any  headway  ;  and  even  after  the  wagon  had  been  un- 

• 
loaded  they  could   not  move  it  an  inch.     Two   Navajos 

here  rode  up,  and,  taking  in  the  situation  at  a  glance, 
offered  their  assistance. 

After  working  for  two  hours  without  any  sign  of 
success — the  five  horses  being  unable  to  draw  the 
empty  wagon  up  the  hill — we  decided  to  back  down 
and  find  another  opening  out  of  the  arroyo.  Accord- 
ingly, I  took  one  of  the  ponies  and  started  down  the 
canon,  and  about  a  mile  below  found  a  place  where  the 


• 


fln  tbc  Ibocjan 

horses  pulled  the  empty  wagon  out  of  the  river-bed. 
Once  out  of  the  dilemma,  we  drove  to  the  point  where 
our  luggage  lay,  and,  carrying  it  up  the  hill,  loaded  the 
wagon  on  the  bank  above.  The  rain,  which  had  been 
threatening  for  some  time,  came  down  almost  in  a  cloud- 
burst, putting  out  the  camp-fire  and  reducing  our  al- 
ready late  dinner  to  its  simplest  form.  We  had  lost 
about  five  hours  by  our  endeavor  to  save  ourselves  a 
journey  of  five  miles ;  thus  emphasizing  the  truth  of 
the  old  saying :  "  The  longest  way  'round  is  the  shortest 
way  home." 

Farther  on  we  reached  the  road  to  Tse-a-lee,  and 
camped  within  sight  of  the  picturesque  and  romantic 
cliffs  of  Canon  de  Chelly,  not  many  miles  from  the 
famous  White  House  cliff  pueblo  ruin,  one  of  the  most 
interesting  relics  of  cliff  architecture  to  be  found  in  this 
vast  territory  of  pueblo  remains.  As  night  drew  on, 
with  the  crescent  moon  in  the  west  about  to  be  hidden 
below  the  horizon,  where  a  few  straggling  stars  dimly 
flickered  along  the  border  of  dark-blue  sky,  the  clouds 
overhead  again  let  raindrops  fall,  making  the  sultry 
breath  from  the  southwest  a  cold,  piercing  lance,  and 
causing  one  to  long  for  the  heat  of  the  fire,  the 

light  of  which  could   be  plainly  seen  coming  from   the 

203 


©ver  tbe  (Sreat  1fla\>a}o  Grail 

smoke-hole  of  the  large  hogan  a  short  distance  down 
the  road,  through  the  tall  pines.  We  passed  into  the 
hut,  through  the  blanket-curtained  doorway,  followed 
by  Sam,  who,  after  a  few  words  in  Navajo  to  the  occu- 
pants, joined,  as  did  we,  the  circle  around  the  fire,  where 
about  a  dozen  Indians  were  reclining  on  elbows,  on 
their  beds  of  sheepskin.  Under  the  smoke-hole  burned 
two  or  three  logs  which  threw  out  a  flickering,  unsteady 
light ;  now  illumining  the  dusky  faces,  then  throwing 
them  into  deep  shadow,  as  the  light  subsided,  leaving 
the  hut  in  almost  total  darkness.  An  old  man,  the 
father  of  the  family,  sat  with  his  little  grandson  between 
his  knees,  fondling  the  child,  and  stooping  now  and  then 
to  kiss  him,  as  he  paused  in  the  conversation.  Several 
young  squaws,  daughters  of  the  old  man,  were  nursing 
babies  ;  while  older  children,  tired  out  at  the  end  of  the 
long  day,  had  succumbed  at  last,  and  fallen  to  sleep. 

Most  of  these  little  people  had  on  strings  of 
beads,  with  obsidian  arrow  heads  strung  in  here  and 
there.  I  reached  over  and  examined  one  of  the  neck- 
laces, and  asked  the  mother:  "How  much?"  "No," 
she  said,  hugging  the  child  closer  to  her;  "Chin- 
dee!"  Chindee  is  the  devil,  and  she  was  afraid,  if 

she  sold  the  beads,   he  would  run  off  with  the  baby. 

204 


fln  tbe  Ibogan 

An  old  woman  sat  in  front  of  a  loom,  weaving,  in 
the  dim,  uncertain  light,  a  blanket  of  intricate  design 
and  of  great  beauty.  The  most  noted  industry  of 
the  Navajos,  and  one  that  has  attained  world-wide 
reputation,  is  blanket-weaving,  the  occupation  of  the 
women  of  the  tribe.  Many  people  of  the  East,  who 
are  fortunate  enough  to  possess  one  of  these  rare 
and  valuable  blankets,  would  be  filled  with  amaze- 
ment could  they  have  viewed  it  in  the  process  of  its 
manufacture,  on  the  crudely-made  loom,  up  in  a 
lonely  spot  on  the  reservation. 

In  front  of  most  of  the  hogans,  though  some- 
times the  loom  is  inside,  a  pole  is  suspended  hori- 
zontally between  two  trees  situated  a  convenient 
distance  apart.  To  this  pole  is  lashed  another 
smaller  one,  below  which  hangs  the  upper  pole  of 
the  loom.  The  distance  between  the  upper  loom- 
pole  and  the  lower  depends  on  the  length  of  the 
finished  blanket.  The  warp  is  wound  from  upper  to 
lower  pole  when  it  is  time  to  be  operated  on.  The 
weaver  then  sits  on  the  ground  before  the  loom, 
with  feet  curled  under  her,  and  begins  weaving — al- 
ways at  the  bottom,  and  working  upward.  As  that 

portion  which   she    can  conveniently  manage  from  her 

207 


tbe  Great  IRavajo  Grail 

seat  on    the   ground    is    worked   in.    it    is    rolled    down 

o 

and  weighted,  and  another  section  of  warp  is  brought 
into  position  for  her  to  manipulate.  A  small  reed 
is  run  through  the  warp,  separating  the  alternate 
threads.  In  the  striped  blankets,  the  yarn  is  wound 
on  a  small  stick  and  pushed  through  the  warp 
threads;  but  in  one  of  zigzag  design,  where  the  yarn 
passes  through  only  a  few  stitches  at  a  time,  the 
squaw  pushes  it  in  with  her  fingers,  puts  it  in  place 
with  a  small  wooden  fork,  and  firmly  presses  it 
down  with  a  thin  piece  of  oak  about  three  feet  long 
and  nearly  three  inches  wide.  These  sticks,  a  fine 
specimen  of  which  is  before  me  in  my  much-prized 
loom,  become  highly  polished  by  the  constant  use 
they  receive. 

The  old  woman  kept  on  with  her  work,  stopping 
only  when  the  firelight  became  so  dim  that  it  was 
impossible  for  her  to  trace  her  pattern.  Around  the 
walls  of  the  hogan  hung  the  saddles,  harness,  guns, 
and  the  saddlebags  of  buckskin,  elaborately  decorated 
with-  beads  by  their  Ute  makers.  This  bead  embroid- 
ery, and  that  done  with  the  quills  of  the  porcupine, 
are  never  attempted  by  the  Navajos,  being  exclu- 
sively the  work  of  the  northern  tribes,  who  have 


208 


A   NAVAJO    WEAVER 


flu  tbc  1bo$an 

reached  a  state  of  rare  perfection  in  the  art.  All 
the  decorations  for  festal  occasions  were  hanging 

&       o 

around,  as  were  little  medicine-bags,  which  act  as  a 
charm  to  ward  off  future  disease,  and  to  drive  away 
that  of  the  present.  The  medicine-bag  is  made  of 
buckskin,  and  contains  charms,  as  well  as  plants  and 
herbs.  It  is  carefully  tied  up,  and  out  of  one  end 
projects  a  bunch  of  horsehair — the  whole  resembling 
a  stuffed  animal  about  the  size  of  a  small  dog. 
Like  the  beads  that  ward  off  Chindee,  the  medicine- 
bag  could  not  be  purchased  at  any  price.  The  very 
thought  of  dispensing  with  these  articles  seemed  ap- 
palling to  their  owners.  Sickness  within  the  hogan, 
and  Chindee  hovering  around  without,  lying  in  wait 
for  them ! 

In  cases  where  the  many  charms  in  which  the 
Navajos  believe  fail  to  accomplish  the  desired  heal- 
ing result,  they  resort  to  one  of  the  medicine-men, 
very  important  personages,  who  with  rites  and  cere- 
monies seek  to  drive  away  the  dreaded  disease.  As 
all  sickness  is  attributed  to  the  working  of  evil  spirits, 
the  spirits  must  be  driven  from  the  victim  before 
relief  can  come  to  him.  In  a  case  of  this  kind,  the 
nearest  medicine-man  is  summoned,  who  puts  the 


©\>er  tbe  (Sreat  IRavajo  Grail 

patient  through  a  course  of  treatment  of  imposing- 
ceremony,  in  the  carrying  out  of  which  he  is  often 
assisted  by  three  or  four  chanters  who,  by  their 
prayers,  seek  to  sing  the  evil  spirits  out  of  the  man. 

These  ceremonies  vary  in  intensity  and  degree, 
according  to  the  financial  standing  of  the  patient, 
from  the  simple  ceremony  of  the  medicine-man  and 
his  chanters  in  the  hogan,  where  the  patient  is  rubbed 
and  sung  over,  in  order  to  drive  the  spirits  from  him; 
to  the  more  elaborate  and  imposing  ceremonies  of 
the  medicine  lodge,  which  often  last  for  several  clays, 
each  day's  preparation  being  long  and  tedious,  and  end- 
ing with  a  night  dance.  When  these  charms  fail  to 
work,  and  the  patient  dies,  it  is  thought,  although  his 
spirit  has  returned  to  the  lower  world,  that  his  body  is 
still  infested  with  Chindee.  It  is  further  thought  that 
any  one  living  in  a  hogan  where  death  has  occurred  is 
liable  to  die  himself,  as  the  hut  is  under  the  power  of 
Chindee,  who  will  ever  after  have  a  controlling  influence 
over  it.  The  hogan  is  therefore  converted  into  a  tomb. 
When  the  body  is  dressed  in  its  best  attire,  and  wrapped 
in  a  blanket,  it  is  buried  in  the  centre  of  the  hut,  the 
grave  being  dug  in  the  floor,  that  has  become  baked 
hard  by  the  camp-fires  of  many  years.  On  the  grave, 


s_ 


fln  tbe  Ibogan 

which,  as  a  rule,  is  not  very  deep,  are  piled  stones.  The 
smoke-hole  in  the  top  is  then  closed  up,  and  the  door 
barricaded  with  branches  and  logs,  to  keep  the  coyotes 
from  eating  the  body  ;  an  act  that  would  effectually  put 
an  end  to  the  man's  existence  in  the  hereafter. 

If  the  deceased  be  a  chief  or  medicine-man,  his  fav- 
orite pony  is  led  to  the  door  where  his  master  lies 
buried,  and,  after  being  hobbled,  is  given  one  stroke  of 
an  axe  between  the  eyes,  when  he  falls  dead  in  front  of 
the  tomb.  The  gathering  then  repair  to  the  nearest 
stream,  where  they  wash  from  head  to  foot ;  and,  after  a 
drink  of  coffee,  they  are  considered  free  from  contact 
with  Chindee.  From  this  it  will  be  seen  why  the 
Navajo  country  is  dotted  here  and  there  with  ruined 
hogans  that  were  once  prosperous  homes. 

Other  burial  places  are  on  the  mountains,  away  from 
the  hogans,  the  graves  being  piled  up  with  stones  in  the 
form  of  hollow  squares  ;  and  not  far  away,  as  may  be 
seen  by  arrowheads,  pieces  of  flint  of  which  these  are 
made,  and  bits  of  broken  pottery,  are  the  deserted  camp- 
ing grounds  of  bygone  ages. 

As  with  all  Indians,  so  are  the  Navajos  full  of  super- 
stitious ideas  and  beliefs.  This,  however,  is  not  surpris- 
ing, for,  being  keen  observers,  they  note  with  alacrity 

215 


<§>\>er  tbe  (Breat  1fla\>a}o 

the  happening  of  events  ;  and  not  being  logical  reason- 
ers,  if  a  calamity  follow  a  certain  action,  that  action  is 
ever  afterward  associated  with  evil.  In  this  way,  one 
thing  after  another  comes  to  be  avoided,  until  the  list 
has  assumed  great  proportions. 

The  Navajos  sometimes  attribute  sickness  that  has 
failed  to  vanish  before  the  skill  of  the  medicine-man  to 
witchcraft.  Such  being  the  case,  the  person  thought  to 
be  infested  with  witches  is  looked  upon  with  distrust  by 
all  with  whom  he  comes  in  contact,  and  is  sometimes 
killed  by  those  who  seek  to  rid  the  community  of  the 
baneful  influence.  )  No  one,  however,  can  justly  censure 
the  Navajo,  who  in  his  innocence  seeks  to  defend  him- 
self and  his  family  from  the  influence  of  a  great  evil, 
when  it  is  remembered  that  the  good  New  England 
Fathers,  living  in  a  comparatively  enlightened  age,  and 
enlisted  under  the  banner  of  Christianity,  carried  on  the 
same  direful  practice,  only  more  highly  intensified  by 
the  horrible  tortures  to  which  they  subjected  their 
helpless  victims. 

Within  the  hogan  were  comfort,  contentment,  and  a 
warmth  of  hospitality  I  have  never  seen  excelled  in  any 
civilized  home  in  our  land  ;  and  we  were  loath  to  leave 
its  kindly  shelter,  after  our  evening's  entertainment. 

216 


flu  the 

But,  owing  to  the  late  hour,  our  thoughts  naturally 
turned  toward  "  home,"  and  through  the  darkness  of  the 
night  we  groped  our  way  to  camp,  a  short  distance 
clown  the  pine-bordered  road — to  sleep,  to  dream,  and  to 
hasten  off  in  the  dim  light  of  the  early  morning. 

After  a  rough  journey,  we  reached  the  road  to 
Tse-a-lee.  Through  the  dense  forests  of  pine,  oak, 
and  white  birch  we  passed  many  black-bear  tracks, 
indicating  the  presence  of  these  animals  in  large  num- 
bers. The  Navajos  seldom  kill  a  bear — some  super- 
stition holding  him  sacred,  and  allowing  these  pic- 
turesque animals  to  increase  rapidly  ;  and  although 
the  mountain  lion  is  hunted  vigorously,  his  skin  being 
utilized  in  various  ways,  the  skin  of  the  bear  is  never 
seen  in  the  hogan,  it  being  considered  an  ill  omen 
even  to  touch  one. 

On  a  hill  overlooking  the  road  is  the  hut  of  the 
"silver-man,"  as  he  is  known  by  the  people  of  his 
clan.  He  furnishes  the  Indians  with  all  sorts  of  orna- 
ments :  and  probably  no  other  tribe  decorate  them- 
selves with  silver  to  the  extent  the  Navajos  do.  The 
articles  turned  out  by  the  silver-man  are  made  exclu- 
sively of  coin,  which  he  melts,  and  works  into  brace- 
lets, earrings,  rings,  buttons,  belt  disks,  bridles,  and 

219 


©\>er  tbe  (Sreat  IRavmjo  Grail 

all  sorts  of  ornaments.  Hollow  bead  necklaces,  with 
large  inverted  crescents  suspended,  are  deftly  made ; 
also  finger-rings,  some  of  which  are  in  imitation  of 
those  worn  by  the  whites,  having  pieces  of  turquoise 
set  in.  Earrings,  many  of  which  are  an  eighth  of  an 
inch  thick,  are  circular  in  form,  and  often  carry  a 
hollow  silver  bead,  which,  together  with  the  weight  of 
the  earring,  has  torn  the  lobe  of  many  a  wearer's  ear. 
Buttons  of  all  sizes  are  turned  out,  and  are  used  for 
decorating  moccasins,  leggins,  and  almost  any  article 
of  wearing  apparel.  These  buttons  are  convex  in  form, 
and  are  usually  decorated  with  star-shaped  designs. 

Sometimes  a  Navajo  will  sell  for  fifteen  cents  a  but- 
ton that  has  been  made  from  a  silver  quarter-dollar — thus 
knocking  off  at  a  great  ratio  instead  of  adding  interest 
to  his  investment. 

Like  the  silversmiths  of  our  own  clime,  who  con- 
tinually seek  to  improvise  some  new  trinket  or  orna- 
ment to  catch  the  passing  fancy  of  the  purchaser,  so 
does  the  Navajo  smith,  who  turns  out  ornaments  that 
for  ingenuity  of  design  and  skill  in  workmanship  are 
not  rivalled  by  his  civilized  contemporary. 

Harness  decorations — such  as  bridles,  which,  with 
the  exception  of  the  bit,  are  almost  entirely  of  silver 


. 


[•HE    COYOTE 


plates  and  circular  disks — are  extremely  unique,  as 
well  as  being  highly  ornate;  and  when  a  squaw  is 
mounted  on  her  gayly-bedecked  horse,  clad  in  her  best 
garments,  with  ornaments  in  profusion,  who  that  looks 
upon  this  interesting  picture  can  question  the  content- 
ment displayed  on  the  beaming  countenance  of  this 
modern  Queen  of  Sheba  ?  Belts  made  of  oval  silver 
disks,  strung  on  a  narrow  leather  thong,  are  worn  by 
both  men  and  women  on  special  occasions;  while  arm- 
lets of  leather,  mounted  with  silver  plates,  are  the 
exclusive  property  of  the  more  prominent  men  of 
the  tribe. 

In  his  little  hut  sat  the  silver-man,  hard  at  work 
before  his  forge,  making  a  bracelet  that  was  soon  to 
decorate  the  wrist  of  some  prosperous  Navajo.  The 
forge  of  the  silver-man  was  crude  in  the  extreme,  and, 
considering  the  limited  facilities  at  his  command,  we 
could  but  wonder  at  the  great  skill  he  displayed  in  his 
art.  On  three  or  four  stone  slabs  rested  the  little  nest- 
like  receptacle  of  mud  that  had  become  baked  into  hard 
clay,  in  which  bits  of  charcoal  were  burning.  The  open- 
ing through  which  the  air  was  being  forced  from  the 
bellows  into  the  pile  of  charcoal  was  a  passage  of  clay 
that  had  been  moulded  on  a  round  stick.  The  bellows 

223 


©ver  the  <5reat  IRavajo  Grail 

was  most  crudely  constructed ;  the  calfskin  folds  having 
been  made  by  contracting  the  wet  skin  between  wooden 
hoops  with  rawhide  rope.  The  bellows  is  worked  by 
hand,  the  fulcrum  of  the  lever  being  the  end  of  the 
board  carrying  the  valve.  This  board  forms  the  back 
of  the  bellows,  its  lower  end  resting  in  a  hole  in  the 

o 

hard  floor  of  the  hut.  The  little  crucibles  in  which 
the  man  was  melting  the  silver  were  cup-shaped,  their 
triangular  edges  forming  lips,  from  which  the  metal 
was  poured  off  into  a  mould  cut  in  a  slab  of  sand- 
stone. From  this  ingot  he  hammered  the  silver  into 
shape  on  an  anvil  of  stone,  and  decorated  it  with  a 
simple  punch,  an  old  three-cornered  file,  and  an  ordi- 
nary knife.  With  this  simple  kit,  aided  by  his  inge- 
nuity, the  Navajo  smith  works  the  silver  into  shape 
and  covers  it  with  decorations,  many  of  which  have 
been  handed  down  from  the  time  when  the  industry 
began. 

As  the  man  worked  at  the  little  bellows,  he  continu- 
ally replaced  the  charcoal  in  the  forge  to  keep  the  cru- 
cible covered.  The  coins  in  the  crucible  soon  became 
white  ;  then,  after  a  little  flux  had  been  added,  they 
turned  a  cherry  red ;  and  when  the  molten  state  was 

reached   they  were   quickly  poured  off  into  the  mould, 

224 


fln  tbc  Ibogan 

and  the  ingot  hammered  into  a  bracelet.  I  should  like 
to  have  had  a  belt  ;  but  when  the  smith  had  sketched 
out  on  paper  the  design  of  a  disk,  I  found  it  would  take 
a  longer  time  than  we  could  well  devote  to  this  vicinity 
to  finish  the  seven  large  disks  it  would  take  for  a  belt- 
so  I  decided  to  get  a  finished  one  from  some  Navajo  we 
miorht  meet  farther  on. 

*j 

After  crossing  Wheatfields  Creek,  we  reached  a  park  ; 
and  Sam,  who  was  riding  on  ahead  of  the  wagon,  sud- 
denly pulled  up  his  pony  and  motioned  to  me  to  look 
on  the  ground  in  front  of  him.  There,  little  disturbed 
by  the  wind,  were  bear  tracks.  They  looked  large  enough 
to  be  silver-tips  ;  but  Sam  said  :  "  Black,  gone  this  morn- 
ing, he  go  back  to-night."  Over  the  hills,  into  the  thick 
timber  we  followed  the  trail,  until,  losing  it  in  the  under- 
brush, we  returned  to  the  wagon  to  make  camp  a  little 
farther  on,  hoping  that  old  Bruin  would  at  nightfall  re- 
turn to  his  mountain  lair  over  the  same  course  he  had 
taken  in  the  morning. 

Among  the  pines,  a  short  distance  from  Tse-a-lee,  we 
camped  in  the  shadow  of  a  perpendicular  shaft  of  rock, 
on  the  top  of  which  were  clusters  of  pines,  clearly  vis- 
ible, but  appearing  like  dwarfs,  so  high  up  in  the  sky. 

This   mountain   the    Navajos   call   Tse'-dez-an,  meanjng 

227 


tbe  (Breat  IRavajo  Grail 

Standing  Rock  ;  and  it  is  believed  by  many  that  on  the 
top  is  a  magician's  lake,  the  water  of  which  is  said  to  be 
used  by  the  medicine-men  in  effecting  some  of  their 
wonderful  cures.  The  presence  of  this  lake  is  probably 
•  the  merest  conjecture — a  matter  of  tradition,  rather  than 
fact — for  it  seems  impossible  that  any  one,  no  matter 
how  sure  of  foot,  could  scale  the  almost  perpendicular 
sides  of  the  cliff. 

From  all  appearance,  our  camp  seemed  to  be  in  a 
section  of  country  but  sparsely  settled  ;  but  as  the 
column  of  smoke  from  the  camp-fire  reached  above  the 
tree-tops — like  the  smoke  signals  of  the  Apaches  and 
other  tribes,  by  which  distant  bands  are  informed  of  the 
approach  of  an  enemy — an  arrival  in  the  vicinity  was 
signalled  from  hogan  to  hogan,  and  another  curious 
crowd  of  men,  women,  and  children  came  in  from  all 
directions.  They  lounged  around  on  the  ground,  laugh- 
ing and  chatting,  seeming  to  regard  us  as  objects  of 
great  curiosity.  The  young  fellows,  more  agile  than 
the  old  men,  danced  around  and  chanted. 

Suddenly  the  attention  of  all  was  turned  toward  a 
coyote  on  a  hill  not  far  off.  What  a  chance  for  a  shot  ! 
Before  I  could  get  my  Winchester  up,  however,  one  of 
the  fellows  fired  and  crippled  the  coyote,  which  fell  on 


228 


1fn  tbc  Ibooan 

its  haunches.  That  the  shot  had  failed  to  kill  seemed 
to  give  the  Indians  great  joy  ;  for  it  is  thought  bad  luck 
will  surely  come  to  him  who  kills  a  coyote  ;  and  the  idea 
of  hitting  without  killing  the  animal,  before  the  white 
man  did,  seemed  to  increase  their  hilarity.  They  jumped 
up,  singing  and  laughing,  and  finally  left  in  a  bunch,  only 
two  remaining  to  pull  the  wounded  coyote  into  camp,  so 
that  we,  not  they,  would  have  the  bad  luck  its  presence 
was  sure  to  bring.  As  they  hastened  off,  I  put  the  coy- 
ote out  of  misery  with  a  ball  from  my  six-shooter,  and 
the  camp  was  still  as  night.  Why  this  sudden  aban- 
donment ?  Some  catastrophe  was  probably  awaited  as 
the  result  of  the  coyote's  death  ;  and  before  long  it  was 
evident  something  would  happen.  The  temperature 
suddenly  fell  from  one  of  summer  heat  to  that  of  a  fall 
night ;  and  as  the  wind  came  up,  the  mountains  to  the 
east  became  obscured  one  after  another,  as  with  a 
mantle  of  smoke  which  shrouded  each  in  its  turn.  A 
forest  fire  was  my  first  thought,  and  I  wondered  if  it 
would  be  necessary  for  us  to  move  on  before  its  awful 
course.  On  it  came,  steadily  bearing  down  upon  us, 
until  Standing  Rock  became  fainter  and  fainter,  then 
faded  entirely  from  view.  The  evening  sun  was  trans- 
formed into  a  golden  ball,  and  the  atmosphere,  that  a 

231 


<§>ver  tbe  (Sreat  1Ha\>ajo  Grail 

short  time  ago  was  so  clear,  became  a  mass  of  flying 
sand,  through  which  the  sun  shed  a  rich,  yellow  light. 

As  a  heavy  rumbling  of  thunder  echoed  and  rechoed 
from  mountain  to  mountain,  while  the  lightning  played 
among  the  surrounding  peaks,  Sam  said  that  Idni  was 
filling  the  lake  with  medicine.  As  the  flashes  became 
brighter  and  brighter,  and  the  thunder  sounded  louder 
and  nearer,  we  crawled  into  the  tent,  nearly  drenched 
by  the  swiftly-falling  raindrops.  None  too  soon  did 
we  reach  shelter,  for  the  storm  broke  with  all  the  fury 
of  a  mountain  hurricane.  Now  the  interior  of  the  tent 
was  bright  as  day,  illumined  by  the  piercing  flashes 
of  lightning — then  followed  a  terrible  darkness,  as  of 
blackest  night ;  while  the  loudly-cracking  thunder,  fol- 
lowing the  flashes  in  rapid  succession,  added  to  the 
grandeur  and  awful  solemnity  of  the  night. 

Slowly  the  storm  subsided,  until  we  could  but  faintly 
hear  the  thunder  rumbling  on  in  the  distance  over  the 
mountains  ;  and  as  we  closed  our  eyes  in  sleep,  to  the 
music  of  the  falling  raindrops,  it  was  with  a  feeling 
of  thankfulness  that  we  had  not  incurred  the  terrible 
wrath  of  Idni,  the  God  of  Thunder. 


232 


DUfl 
IRounb  IRocfe 


IDflfl 


Go  IRounfc  IRocfc 

A  Mountain  Settlement. — Breaking  Camp. — The  Council  House. — Navajo 
Sweat  Lodge. — Crossing  a  Hot  Arizona  Desert. — Cow  Meat. — Round  Rock  Trad- 
ing Post. 

ABOUT  a  mile  up  the  gulch,  to 
the  northeast,  was  quite  a  Navajo 
settlement,  the  little  clusters  of 
hogans  being  more  numerous, 
and  nearer  together,  than  at 
any  of  our  previous  camps. 
There  was  also  more  hustle 
and  bustle  among  the  Indians, 
which  gave  the  place  quite  an 
air  of  industry  and  prosperity. 
Sheltered  by  the  willows  in 
front  of  their  homes,  squaws  were  at  work  at  their 
looms,  weaving  with  the  native  wool  that  others  were 
preparing  for  them  near  by.  This  preparation  was 

235 


tbe  (Sreat  IRavajo  Grail 

going  on  in  all  its  stages,  from  the  time  the  sheep  were 
sheared  until  the  wool  was  spun  and  handed  over  to 
the  blanket-weavers.  After  the  wool  had  been  thor- 
oughly washed,  it  was  thrown  into  large  kettles  con- 
taining dyes  of  bright  yellow,  red,  blue,  and  black,  and 
boiled.  When  the  wool  had  absorbed  the  dye  in 
sufficient  quantity,  it  was  taken  from  the  kettle,  spread 
out  to  dry,  and  spun  into  yarn. 

The  Navajos  make  the  yellow,  red,  and  black  dyes 
which  they  use.  The  yellow  is  from  the  flowering  tops 
of  Bigelovia  Graveolens,  with  a  little  native  alum. 
The  black  is  a  concoction  made  from  the  leaves  and 
twigs  of  the  aromatic  sumac,  a  native  yellow  ochre, 
and  the  gum  of  the  pinon,  a  nut-bearing  species  of 
pine.  The  blue  is  made  from  indigo,  which  the 
Indians  obtain  from  the  traders.  The  brilliant  red 
was  first  obtained  from  a  scarlet  cloth  called  Bayeta, 
originally  imported  from  Mexico.  The  orange  they 
get  from  the  roots  of  a  sorrel ;  the  green  from  a  mix- 
ture of  yellow  and  blue ;  while  the  white  and  black 
wool — also  gray,  a  mixture  of  the  former — is  the  wool 
in  its  natural  state. 

The    men,    too,    were    not    idle,    being    at    work    at 

pursuits  of  their  own — tanning  skins,  knitting  leggins, 

236 


u 


WAITING   FOR   A   COYOTE 


Go  IRounfc  IRocfc 

and  making  moccasins — or  mock-skins,  as  Sam  called 
them.  I  inquired  of  a  young  fellow  who  seemed  quite 
an  adept  at  the  art  if  he  would  make  a  pair  of  moc- 
casins for  me.  He  was  quite  willing,  and,  as  he 
dropped  his  other  work,  I  prepared  to  be  measured  in 
true  Navajo  style.  The  shoemaker  first  made  an  out- 
line of  my  foot,  then  cut  the  rawhide  sole  half  an 
inch  larger  than  the  drawing.  The  hide  was  then 
softened  by  being  buried  in  moist  sand,  in  which 
condition  it  was  readily  moulded  to  ^the  foot.  The 
uppers  he  made  of  buckskin,  colored  a  deep  red-brown, 
or  terra-cotta,  with  native  dye.  These  buckskin  uppers 
he  attached  to  the  sole  with  sinew,  which  he  ran 
through  corresponding  holes  that  had  been  made  with 
a  fine  awl.  This  made  an  extremely  neat  job,  and  is 
certainly  as  creditable  to  the  Navajo  as  are  any  of 
his  other  achievements.  When  my  moccasins  were 
finished,  tried  on,  and  pronounced  satisfactory  in  every 
respect,  the  man  took  some  silver  buttons  from  the 
handkerchief  that  encircled  his  head  and  added  the 
finishing  touch  that  contributed  greatly  to  the  orna- 
mental appearance  of  the  foot-gear. 

The  children,   meanwhile,  were  busy  at  various  oc- 
cupations,   and,   as    before,    I    could   not   but   note    the 

239 


©\>er  tbe  Great  Iflavajo  Grail 

happiness  that  falls  to  their  lot.  They  are  naturally 
well  behaved,  are  never  punished — in  fact,  that  time- 
worn  saying,  "  Spare  the  rod,  and  spoil  the  child,"  does 
not  seem  at  all  applicable  to  the  Indian,  who,  without 
chastisement,  develops  the  natural,  easy-going  dispo- 
sition that  characterizes  Indian  child  life.  A  little 
boy  and  girl  were  playing  with  some  toys  that  they 
had  skilfully  made,  and  they  seemed  to  find  more 
pleasure  in  these  articles  of  their  own  handiwork  than 
do  our  children  in  the  expensive  toys  from  the  city 
stores.  There  were  horses  that  had  been  moulded 
out  of  clay,  with  tails  and  manes  of  sheep's  wool  ; 
and  lambs,  whose  identity  was  readily  detected  by 
their  resemblance  to  the  original  lamb  in  the  flock 
that  the  children  daily  drive  to  and  from  the  hillside. 
The  minute  observations  of  these  children  were  shown 
not  only  in  the  excellent  reproductions  of  these  ani- 
mals from  nature,  but  by  the  Navajo  saddles  and  the 
cinches  of  calico  they  had  put  on  the  horses.  Dolls 
they  had  made  of  sticks  and  pieces  of  calico,  the  bodies 
being;  of  wood  and  the  clothes  of  different-colored  cal- 

o 

icoes.  Other  children  were  climbing  up  the  sides  of 
the  hogans,  playing  with  a  kid  that  had  strayed  from 

the  flock    on  the    hillside ;    throwing  a  lariat    around  a 

240 


Go  IRounfc  IRocfc 

good-natured  dog,  and  shooting  at  marks  with  their 
bows  and  arrows  when  no  birds  happened  to  be  in 
sight. 

We  took  back  to  camp,  in  addition  to  some  clay 
horses,  lambs,  and  a  doll,  several  fat  squirrels,  some 
cottontails,  and  wild  doves  that  we  had  come  across  up 
in  the  timber — and  we  spent  the  rest  of  the  day  writing. 

In  the  cold,  still  night,  when  awakening  to  turnover 
and  enjoy  the  warmth  of  the  thick  layer  of  blankets 
under  us,  the  canvas  overhead  appeared  like  the  great 
dome  of  the  sky  ;  and  as  I  lay  sleepily  gazing  upward 
into  the  seeming  great  space,  a  cracking  sound  broke 
through  the  stillness  of  the  night,  as  of  the  crunching  of 
bones.  Was  it  a  coyote,  a  gray  wolf,  or  had  old  Bruin 
found  his  way  to  camp  in  quest  of  the  bones  of  the 
rabbits  and  squirrels  we  had  had  for  supper  ?  The  Win- 
chester was  ready  for  use  ;  but  to  raise  the  side  canvas 
of  the  tent  might  inform  our  keen-eyed  visitor  that  he 
was  not  the  only  one  in  the  vicinity  awake  ;  so  I  waited 
at  the  door,  looking  through  the  crack  in  the  canvas. 
There  was  plenty  of  light  to  see  him  if  he  would  only 
come  around  by  the  wagon,  but  the  bones  seemed  to 
keep  him  busy.  After  a  patient  wait  for  him  to  finish 

the  meal — a  wait  that  seemed  hours — he  walked  straight 

241 


©vcr  tbe  Great  IRavajo  Grail 

for  the  molasses  can,  in  front  of  my  position  at  the  tent 
door,  and  there,  in  the  clear  moonlight,  stood  our 
shaggy  guest — a  coyote.  Before  he  had  time  to  plunder 
our  provisions,  however,  he  received  a  ball  behind  the 
shoulder,  and,  with  a  loud  yelp  and  a  bound,  he  fell 
dead  a  few  feet  away.  On  hearing  the  shot  and  the 
yelp,  his  companions  in  the  woods — possibly  two  or 
three  in  number — became  fully  aroused  to  the  fact  that 
trouble  had  occurred,  and  a  cry  went  up  that,  to  un- 
initiated ears,  would  appear  as  if  a  pack  of  twenty  or 
thirty  were  barking  and  howling,  each  in  a  different  key, 
and  with  as  much  energy  as  their  powerful  throats 
would  permit. 

When  Sam  returned  to  camp  next  morning — he  had 
slept  at  one  of  the  hogans  up  the  gulch — he  looked 
greatly  crestfallen.  Another  dead  coyote  in  camp,  surely 
some  bad  luck  in  store  for  us  !  With  a  most  dejected 
look  on  his  face  as  he  sat  down  to  breakfast,  he  ex- 
claimed :  "  Navajo  no  like  coyote  !  " 

Our   breakfast  was  shared  with  two  squaws  who   had 

come   down  the  trail    leading-  from   their   homes  on    the 

-/\H 

mountainside,  where  they  hcialeft  their  sleeping  babies, 
laced  in  their  cradles,  to  be  cared  for  by  the  other  chil- 
dren, and  where  a  breakfast  of  coffee,  cornmeal  mush, 

242 


CHARLEY    WHITE 


Go  IRounfc  IRocfc 

and  lamb  awaited  their  return.  They  had  taken  the  last 
opportunity  to  dispose  of  a  blanket  which  one  had  just 
finished. 

When  the  outfit  was  ready  to  move,  Sam  began  his 
usual  preparation  for  starting — that  is,  catching  his 
pony  and  putting  the  saddle  on  him.  This  feat  some- 
times took  an  hour  or  more,  and  this  morning  was  no 
exception.  The  three  days'  rest,  with  plenty  of  good 
grass  and  fresh  water,  had,  we  might  well  say,  filled  the 
pony  as  full  of  the  devil  as  a  young  Indian  pony  is 
capable  of  holding  ;  and  all  his  youthful  vigor  and 
viciousness  were  exhibited  at  once.  When,  after  much 
exertion,  he  was  finally  roped  and  saddled,  and  Sam 
was  about  to  mount,  with  a  buck  he  bounded  off  on 
a  run  like  a  young  steer.  Up  over  the  hill  he  dashed, 
dragging  Sam,  who  had  held  on  to  the  rope,  and 
whose  feet  ploughed  up  the  sand  at  every  jump.  As 
they  neared  a  tree,  Sam  braced  his  feet  against  the 
trunk,  and  stopped  so  suddenly  as  to  snap  the  rope  in 
two.  The  pony,  once  free,  dashed  down  the  hillside 
into  the  prairie-dog  village  just  over  the  knoll,  and  the 
occupants  went  pell-mell  into  their  houses,  head  first,  as 
if  shot  from  a  gun.  The  pony  by  this  time  was  almost 

Avild,  jumping  and  bucking  far  down  the  road.     A  young 

245 


©ver  tbe  (Sreat  IRavajo 

Navajo  boy,  who  had  been  watching  the  performance, 
spurred  his  horse,  and  started  out  after  the  runaway. 
After  a  hot  chase  the  animal  was  cornered  in  the  big 
timber  and  led  back  to  camp,  where  he  tried  to  repeat 
the  exhibition.  This  time,  however,  there  was  not  so 
much  bucking,  as  Sam,  being  on  the  lookout,  choked 
him  down  before  he  could  cause  further  delay. 

Down  the  road  we  came  upon  a  large  council 
house,  resembling  a  hogan  in  shape,  but  being  fully 
six  times  the  size  of  one.  The  large,  flat,  rectangular 
roof,  from  which  the  sides  slanted,  was  supported  by 
a  post  at  each  corner,  and,  like  the  hogan,  there  was 
a  smoke-hole  in  the  centre  of  the  roof. 

During  the  cold  weather  the  meetings  of  the  chiefs, 
or  head  men  of  the  tribe,  are  held  in  these  council 
houses,  where  all  important  questions  concerning  the 
welfare  of  the  Navajo  are  discussed.  The  chiefs 
among  the  Navajos  are  generally  those  who  have 
become  prominent  through  their  prosperity,  and  from 
this  number  is  appointed  a  head  chief. 

Since  the  death  of  Manuelito,  in  1893,  who,  up  to 
that  time,  was  chief  of  the  tribe,  and  whose  judgment 
at  the  meetings  was  sought  above  all  others,  there  has 

been  no  recognized  head  chief.      His  nephew,  Pesende, 

246 


Go  IRounb  IRocfc 

although  still  a  young  man,  already  has  shown  con- 
siderable ability  at  the  government  meetings,  and  has 
been  mentioned  as  the  coming  man.  In  all  prob- 
ability, at  the  next  meeting  of  the  chiefs  he  will  be 
appointed  unanimously  as  Manuelito's  successor. 

We  passed  many  hogans,  with  their  adjoining 
patches  of  Indian  corn,  which,  after  the  rain  has  come 
in  sufficient  quantities  to  yield  an  abundant  crop,  the 
Navajo  gathers  in  and  gives  thanks  to  the  gods  by 
dancing  the  Yebichy,  a  ceremony  which  takes  nine 
days  to  perform,  and  which  ends  with  a  night  dance. 

As  we  left  the  heavy  timber  of  the  mountains, 
the  herds  of  sheep  on  the  hillsides  grew  fewer,  and 
the  straying  ponies — varying  in  color  from  white, 
buckskin,  light  bay,  and  piebald,  to  black — were  seen 
less  frequently.  The  last  sign  of  habitation  as  we 
neared  the  plain  was  a  low  hut — one  of  the  Navajo 
sweat  lodges.  In  appearance  the  sweat  lodge  closely 
resembles  a  deserted  hogan,  but  on  examination  it  is 
evident  it  is  the  resort  of  the  living  rather  than  of 
the  dead.  At  the  highest  point  the  lodge  is  not  more 
than  four  feet  from  the  ground,  and  it  is  large  enough 
only  for  the  one  person  who  goes  through  the  sweat- 
lodge  ceremony  as  a  means  of  cleansing  from  sick- 


©ver  tbe  (Breat  IRavajo  {Trail 

ness  or  some  other  evil.  The  preparation  for  the  sweat 
consists  of  heating  some  stones  in  the  fire  outside  and 
carrying  them  into  the  hut  on  sticks.  When  a  suffi- 
cient number  have  been  placed  inside  the  lodge,  the 
person  sits  in  the  centre  with  the  door  closed,  and, 
after  a  vigorous  sweat,  comes  out  in  the  open  air  and 
dries  himself  in  the  sun.  The  single  opening  of  the 
hut — the  entrance — faces  the  east,  and  during  the  cere- 
mony it  is  covered  with  a  blanket. 

We  were  nearing  the  great  barren  plain  that 
stretched,  desert  like,  between  us  and  Round  Rock. 
The  scrub  cedars  became  fewer,  and  as  we  passed  the 
Tuincha  Mountains,  whose  foot-hills  form  a  border  of 
many-colored  strata  of  sandstone,  the  familiar  sage- 
bush,  which  seems  to  find  nourishment  enough  in 
almost  any  clime,  disappeared,  to  be  supplanted  by 
the  Yucca  Baccata.  The  fine  sand  of  the  plain  became 
hotter  and  hotter  as  we  plodded  along  over  this  arid 
tract,  where  the  only  object  to  relieve  the  monotony 
of  the  sandy  landscape  was  now  and  then  the  carcass 
of  a  horse  that  had  wandered  too  far  from  the  springs 
and  pools. 

A  cloudless  sky,  from  which  the  noonday  sun  shone 
without  interruption  on  the  sands  of  the  prairie!  No 

248 


Go  IRounfc  IRocfe 

vegetation,  no  water — no  sign  of  life,  except  yonder, 
where  some  ravens  were  holding  high  carnival  over 
the  carcass  of  a  horse  that  had  succumbed  to  the 
intense  heat  of  the  plains;  and  by  the  roadside,  where 
rattlesnakes  lay  coiled  up  in  the  sun,  as  if  they,  too, 
were  under  his  enchanting  spell,  and  could  do  nothing 
but  sleep  in  their  hot,  sandy  beds.  Bright-hued  lizards 
glided  noiselessly  around  the  yucca  plants,  as  if  in 
search  of  a  shelter  from  the  burning  rays.  No  sound 
broke  the  awful  stillness  save  that  of  the  wagon- 
wheels  grinding  along  the  sandy  road. 

At  the  last  spring  we  had  filled  our  barrel  and 
canteens  with  water  that  was  so  decidedly  alkali  as 
to  be  hardly  drinkable,  and  we  were  now  on  the  look- 
out for  a  pool  back  in  the  canon,  a  few  miles  to  the 
north.  Farther  on,  in  the  distance,  were  some  moving 
dots,  evidently  ponies,  that  were  not  far  from  a  pool 
in  the  canon.  Slinging  the  canteens  over  his  shoulder, 
Sam  cantered  over  the  prairie  in  the  direction  of  the 
pool,  while  we  kept  on  our  course,  slowly  jogging 
along  the  road.  From  a  crest  in  the  sloping  prairie, 
Round  Rock,  a  large  sandstone  butte,  appeared  in  the 
west,  like  a  great  fish,  the  eye  of  which  was  a  hole  that 
had  been  worn  by  the  high  winds  and  the  prairie  sands. 

251 


tbc  (5reat  IRavajo  Grail 

When  the  sun  was  getting  low,  Sam  appeared  on  the 
crest  of  the  hill  with  three  Indians  he  had  met  up  at 
the  spring.  He  produced  the  canteens,  that  we  might 
have  a  refreshing  drink,  but  the  water  in  the  keg  was 
far  preferable  to  that  Sam  had  taken  the  long  journey 
over  the  prairie  to  procure — it  tasted  as  if  cattle  had 
been  wallowing  in  it. 

One  of  Sam's  new  acquaintances  was  a  medicine- 
man ;  the  other  two  were  chanters,  who  were  accompany- 
ing him  from  settlement  to  settlement,  to  assist  in  per- 
forming ceremonies  and  making  cures.  Sam  called  the 
medicine-man  Charley — "  Charley  White,"  he  said  in 
an  aside  to  me.  "  He  like  white  man,  so  his  name 
Charley  White."  In  a  similar  way  many  of  the  Nav- 
ajos  have  acquired  English  names.  Charley's  Navajo 
name  is  De-nava-swish-ke-ze,  meaning  one  tooth  gone. 
Sam  had  come  across  the  trio  up  at  the  spring,  where 
they  had  been  dressing  some  beef  cattle — which  par- 
tially accounted  for  the  poor  condition  of  the  water. 
They  produced  the  "  cow  meat,"  as  Sam  called  it,  in 
long,  narrow  strips,  and,  for  the  first  time  in  nearly  a 
month,  we  enjoyed  a  good  supper  of  beef.  Sitting 
around  the  fire  in  a  circle,  we  each  roasted  a  strip'  of 

"cow  meat"  in  the  coals,  in  true  Navajo  fashion,    and 

252 


Go  IRounfc  IRocfc 

greatly  relished  the  meal  that  was  so  entirely  unex- 
pected. 

After  supper  we  turned  in  for  the  night ;  while  Sam 
and  his  friends  saddled  their  ponies  and  started  up  the 
road  to  the  trading  post,  a  few  miles  farther  on  to- 
ward Round  Rock.  We  had  slept  for  some  time,  and 
it  must  have  been  nearly  morning  when  we  heard  them 
returning  to  camp.  Before  long  they  were  seated 
around  the  fire  which  lighted  up  the  tent,  smoking  and 
chanting,  their  deep,  melodious  voices  vibrating  through 
the  still,  clear  atmosphere,  and  imparting  to  us  a  feel- 
ing of  enchantment,  as  if  we  had  been  transported 
into  dreamland  by  the  power  of  the  magician  and  his 
chanters. 

Next  morning  Sam  looked  tired — his  eyes  heavy 
from  want  of  sleep — as  from  under  his  saddle  he  took 
a  fine  saddle-blanket  and  spread  it  on  the  ground. 
"Did  you  buy  it?"  I  asked.  "No,"  he  answered, 
"  Koon-kan  last  night " —his  eyes  looked  it.  "How 
much  you  give  me  for  it?"  "One  dollar,"  I  replied. 
"One  dollar  twenty-five,"  said  Sam.  "All  right;  throw 
it  in  the  wagon."  "  One  dollar  an'  half,"  Sam  then 
said  ;  but  I  refused  to  go  farther,  saying  if  he  intended 
making  another  deal  I  would  give  him  only  a  dollar. 

255 


©ver  tbc  (Breat  Iflavajo  ZTrail 

So,  with  a  smile,  he  tossed  the  blanket  in  with  the 
others,  and  crawled  under  the  wagon  for  a  short  nap 
before  starting  for  the  trading  post. 

Just  before  noon  we  reached  the  hard-baked  bed  of 
the  Rio  Carriso,  on  the  opposite  bank  of  which  stood 
the  trading  post.  Part  of  this  one-story  building  is 
stone,  while  the  other  half  is  made  of  logs  placed  per- 
pendicularly side  by  side.  The  trading  store  and  the 
living  apartments  of  the  traders  were  in  the  stone  build- 
ing ;  the  storehouse  in  the  adjoining  wooden  structure. 
The  two  attendants  seemed  much  surprised  to  see  us, 
and  wondered  why  we  had  come  so  many  miles  up  in 
the  reservation,  over  a  hard,  rough  country,  to  visit  a 
little  trading  post,  which  to  them  had  lost  all  its  charm, 
if,  indeed,  it  ever  possessed  any.  The  dreary  life  they 
were  leading,  away  from  civilization,  with  not  another 
white  man  within  sixty  miles  in  any  direction,  with  no 
associates  but  the  Indians  who  were  standing  around  the 
store,  had  so  changed  them  that  they  looked  upon 
people  of  their  own  kin  as  curiosities.  They  seemed  so 
pleased  to  see  us,  and  stared  at  the  Senora  with  such 
intensity,  that  we  wondered  what  so  interested  them. 
It  seems  they  had  not  seen  a  white  woman  for  three 

years,  and  then  it  was  at  Fort  Defiance,  where  they  had 

256 


IRounfc  IRocfc 

gone  on  a  visit.  To  celebrate  the  event  of  her  presence 
at  the  post,  the  Senora  was  presented  a  dozen  fresh 
eggs,  which,  with  the  "cow  meat,"  made  our  dinner — 
one  not  often  eaten  on  an  Arizona  desert. 

The  proprietor  of  the  post,  an  industrious  half-breed, 
being  down  in  the  reservation,  we  were  offered  the 
use  of  his  room  if  we  cared  to  remain  at  the  store  ;  but 
to  sleep  in  a  house  when  a  bed  in  the  tent  out  in  the 
clear  prairie  air  was  obtainable,  was  not  to  be  thought 
of ;  so  the  invitation  was  declined. 

Many  Navajos  were  at  the  store  with  their  blankets 
and  hides  ;  but  when  they  spied  our  outfit,  their  ideas 
of  trading  seemed  to  vanish,  and  they  flocked  around 
the  wagon.  Among  the  others  was  an  old  medicine- 
man, bent  with  age,  but  bright-eyed,  and  interested  in 
all  that  was  going  on.  He  climbed  upon  the  wagon, 
examining  everything  in  turn  ;  and  when  he  uncon- 
sciously put  his  hand  on  the  coyote  skin  that  was  hang- 
ing on  the  back  of  the  wagon,  an  exclamation  from 
those  standing  beside  him  caused  him  to  withdraw  it 
as  if  he  had  been  bitten  by  a  tarantula.  The  Indians 
at  once  broke  into  a  hearty  laugh,  guying  the  man,  until, 
in  desperation  at  their  taunts,  he  broke  away  and  ran 
to  the  well  down  over  the  bank,  where,  in  a  tub,  he 

259 


©v>er  tbe  (Breat  IRavajo  {Trail 

washed  and  scrubbed  the  hand  that  had  come  in  con- 
tact with  the  coyote  skin,  as  if  his  only  hope  of  future 
happiness  depended  upon  a  thorough  cleansing.  For 
should  the  influence  of  the  evil  spirits  that  infested  the 
skin  fall  upon  him,  what  hope  had  he  of  anything  better 
than  a  life  of  torture  ? 

From  Round  Rock  we  had  planned  to  return 
through  the  Chin-lee  Valley,  and  visit  the  ruins  of  the 
famous  cliff  dwellings,  known  as  the  White  House  in 
Canon  de  Chelly  ;  but  most  of  the  Navajos  had  already 
left  the  canon  for  camps  in  the  mountains,  on  account 
of  the  unusually  long  drought  to  which  the  country  had 
been  subjected.  For  this  reason,  and  also  because  of 
the  heavy  roads,  we  decided  to  make  Round  Rock 
Trading  Post,  but  twenty  miles  from  the  Carrisos,  in  the 
heart  of  the  reservation,  the  terminal  point  of  our 
journey  of  two  hundred  and  sixty  miles  over  the  Great 
Navajo  Trail. 


260 


U1I1I1I 


ZTbe  Iflavajo 

The    Reservation. — Treatment    of    the    Indians. — Mining    on    the    Reservation. — 
Opening  up  the  Reservation,  and  the  Result. 

Is  the  Navajo  to  be  the  next 
victim  of  the  Government's  In- 
dian policy  ?  Is  the  discovery 
of  traces  of  gold  in  his  scantily 
fertile  land  to  be  the  entering 
wedge  of  the  whites  ?  This 
would,  in  the  end,  result  in  the 
negotiation,  through  the  Sena- 
tors at  Washington,  for  the 
purchase  of  the  Indian's  now 
insufficient  arable  land,  which 
is  his  only  hope  of  existence. 

Not   many  years  ago  water  and  grass  were  plentiful ; 

but  as  the  tribe  has  increased,  so  has  the   demand  for 

263 


©\>er  tbe  (Sreat  IRavajo  Grail 

water  and  pasturage,  until  now  the  land  cannot  furnish 
food  enough  for  the  vast  flocks  and  herds.  Many  thou- 
sand Navajos  have  thus  been  obliged  to  wander  off  the 
reservation,  gradually  settling  along  the  streams,  as  far 
east  as  the  Rio  Puerco  ;  south,  as  Zuni  ;  and  as  far  west 
as  the  Grand  Canon  of  the  Colorado,  intruding  on  the 
pasture  lands  of  the  Moquis. 

This  necessitated  spread  of  the  tribe  is  a  constant 
menace  to  the  cattlemen  in  the  vicinity  of  the  reserva- 
tion ;  and  at  present  the  outlook  for  either  is  not  the 
brightest.  The  land  included  within  the  reservation 
is  sufficient  in  area  for  their  numbers,  were  it  not  in 
many  large  tracts  a  barren  waste,  where  there  is  not 
wood  enough  to  light  a  camp-fire. 

The  Government  has  attempted  to  build  storage 
reservoirs,  and  lay  out  a  system  of  irrigation  which,  if 
completed,  would,  to  a  considerable  extent,  tend  to 
alleviate  the  wants  of  these  industrious  and  energetic 
people ;  but,  after  years  of  labor,  the  work  is  still  far 
from  completion. 

To  be  sure,  the  Navajos  have  committed  many 
depredations,  running  off  stock,  and,  in  some  instances, 
killing  the  settlers.  These  quarrels,  in  most  cases,  have 

been    over    the    springs,    which     in    the    much-disputed 

264 


Gbe  IRavajo 

country  are  scarce.  The  deeds,  therefore,  have  been 
committed  out  of  simple  protection,  and  are  exactly 
what  hundreds  of  whites  have  done,  not  only  to  the 
stock  and  settlements  of  the  Indians,  but  to  those  of 
their  own  race  as  well,  when  a  bunch  of  cattle  could  be 
gained  by  so  doing.  But  where  the  Indian  is  con- 
cerned, only  one  side  of  the  story  is  ever  told,  and 
there  it  ends.  In  the  few  cases  where  they  have  beaten 
the  whites,  the  Indians  have  in  return  been  defeated 
by  the  troops. 

The  traders  and  people  around  the  reservation 
seem  to  think  it  strange  that  the  Navajo  looks  with 
suspicion  upon  every  white  man  with  whom  he  comes 
in  contact ;  but  a  review  of  the  treatment  other  tribes 
have  received  at  the  hands  of  the  whites  will  clear  up 
any  misunderstanding  on  that  point.  Time  and  again 
the  Indians  have  been  driven  from  their  beautiful  moun- 
tain streams  and  forests,  where  game  was  plentiful,  and 
their  wants  supplied  by  their  skill  in  hunting  and 
trapping,  to  have  their  picturesque  lands  taken  up  by 
the  whites,  who  seemed  to  think  they  had  more  right 
to  them  than  did  the  people  whose  forefathers  had 
hunted  there  for  generations.  The  lands  to  which  they 

were   driven  were,    in   many   cases,  barren  wastes,   from 

265 


©v>er  tbe  (Breat  Iftavajo  ZTrail 

which  they  fought  their  way  back,  avowing  that  it  was 
as  well  for  them  to  die  on  the  battlefield  as  to  have 
their  people  starve  to  death  on  the  tracts  that  had 
been  provided  for  them. 

In  a  report  from  General  Knox,  Secretary  of  War, 
to  President  Washington,  dated  June  15,  1789,  it  is 
stated:  "The  Indians,  being  the  prior  occupants, 
possess  the  right  of  the  soil.  It  cannot  be  taken  from 
them,  unless  by  free  consent  or  by  the  right  of  conquest 
in  case  of  a  just  war.  To  dispossess  them  on  any 
other  principle  would  be  a  gross  violation  of  the  funda- 
mental laws  of  nature,  and  of  that  distributive  justice 
which  is  the  glory  of  a  nation."  This  thoroughly  ex- 
presses the  sentiment  of  that  time,  and  it  would  be  well 
were  it  the  sentiment  of  the  present ;  but  to-day  we 
find  the  Indian  reduced  by  war  after  war,  treaty  after 
treaty,  and  purchase  after  purchase,  to  such  an  extent 
that  many  tribes  have  entirely  Disappeared. 

To  lease  the  Navajo  lands  for  mining  purposes  to 
reliable  persons,  who  will  vacate  when  the  resources 
become  exhausted  or  when  the  lease  will  have  expired, 
would  leave  the  Indian  in  possession  of  the  land,  which 
would  still  retain  its  ability  to  furnish  pasturage  ;  and 

possibly  the    development  of    the    streams  and  springs 

266 


IRavajo 

would  tend  to  increase  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  But 
would  not  the  contact  of  the  Indians  with  frequenters 
of  the  mining  camps  be  a  source  of  trouble,  overbal- 
ancing any  benefit  that  might  be  derived  therefrom  ? 

In  the  event  of  gold  being  discovered  in  sufficient 
quantities  to  mine,  a  boom  would  be  started — the 
news  spreading  from  gulch  to  river-bed,  thence  from 
town  to  town ;  and  in  a  short  time  the  reservation 
would  be  entered  from  all  directions  by  people  who, 
not  being  so  fortunate  as  the  original  lessees,  would 
try  to  reach  the  treasure  section  by  force.  To  pre- 
vent serious  trouble  would  take  a  large  number  of 
troops.  The  Navajos,  who  are  well  armed,  would  re- 
sist the  intrusion  to  their  utmost  capacity,  and  many 
parties  would  never  reach  their  destination.  It  is  tax 
enough  on  the  Navajo  to  be  compelled  to  eke  out  an 
existence  in  a  partially-barren  country,  without  having 
to  resist  an  invasion  of  the  whites. 

To  purchase  the  land,  of  course,  seems  just  and 
right ;  but  think  what  the  result  would  mean  to  the 
Indian !  The  payment  made  to  each,  individually, 
would  be  so  small  that  he  would  in  a  short  time 
be  without  money  or  land — the  latter  having  been 
thrown  open  to  prospectors  (many  of  whom  had  been 

267 


©ver  tbe  (Breat  IRavajo  Grail 

run  out  of  other  mining  camps)  and  to  that  class  of 
people  who  surround  Indian  reservations  with  the  ex- 
pectation that  at  some  time  the  land  will  be  thrown 
open  for  their  benefit.  They  will  then  enter  with  a 
rush,  taking  up  the  land,  which,  having  been  much 
overrated  by  their  strong  imaginations,  would  soon 
prove  as  unable  to  provide  them  with  the  necessities 
of  life  as  it  .was  the  Indians  before  them  ;  and,  were 
it  not  for  their  weakness  for  the  yellow  metal,  they 
would  pull  up  stakes  and  leave  in  disgust.  Then, 
when  the  Indians  have  received  payment  for  their 
land,  they,  with  the  smattering  of  knowledge  they  have 
received  from  the  schools,  will  be  supposed  to  earn 
a  livelihood  among  a  people  whose  business  ability  is 
far  superior  to  that  of  the  people  who  but  a  short 
time  before  were  living  under  the  care  and  protec- 
tion of  the  Government.  The  outcome  of  this  would 
be  a  change,  after  the  second  generation,  from  the 
present  full-blooded  Navajo  to  a  half-breed,  who,  as  is 
generally  the  case,  would  inherit  none  of  the  best  qual- 
ities of  his  ancestors  on  either  side. 

Unlike  the  Pueblo  Indian,  who  takes  more  kindly 
to  the  ways  of  civilization  than  his  roving  neighbor, 
having  for  centuries  lived  partially  civilized,  the  Navajo 


268 


seems   unable  to   withstand   any   change   from  the   cus- 
toms he  has  followed  for  ages. 

Up  in  the  gulches  on  the  mountain-sides — miles 
from  the  society  of  their  oppressors — we  find  the 
Navajos  in  their  little  settlements,  which,  if  carefully 
observed,  would  present  a  different  phase  of  the 
Indian  question  to  those  great  reformers  who  look 
only  on  the  theoretical  side  of  a  question.  Without 
civilization  the  Navajo  has  lived  and  prospered;  and 
that  his  life  on  the  reservation  has  proved  nothing  but 
beneficial  is  shown  by  the  rapid  increase  of  this,  the 
largest  of  the  remaining  full-blooded  tribes. 

Why,  then,  thrust  upon  a  people  who  have  always 
lived  an  outdoor  life,  like  children  of  nature  that  they 
are,  a  state  of  civilization  for  which  they  seem  entirely 
unfit,  as  well  as  being  strongly  opposed  to  ?  The 
Navajos  have  ever  been  able  to  provide  for  them- 
selves, until  suddenly  brought  up  against  the  ways  of 
civilization,  which  they  can  but  a  short  time  withstand, 
and  which  have  endangered  their  native  customs,  habits, 
and  industries. 

The  civilizing  experiment  has  been  tried  many  times, 
with  the  result  that  the  tribes  so  dealt  with  have  been 
civilized  out  of  existence. 

269 


®\>er  tbc  (Breat  IRavajo  Grail 

The  Indians,  like  the  few  remaining  herds  of 
buffalo,  are  reaching  that  point  where  they  are  in  need 
of  the  greatest  care  and  protection,  in  order  to  save 
those  who  remain  ;  and  it  is  time  the  Government 
devised  some  method  whereby  they  can  be  freed  from 
the  evil  influences  by  which  they  are  constantly 
surrounded. 

Under  the  policy  now  in  vogue,  the  lands  of  the  In- 
dian cannot  be  protected  against  the  encroachment  of  his 
more  fortunate  white  neighbors,  unless  the  time  comes 
when  that  universal  law,  the  survival  of  the  fittest, 
be  laid  aside — then,  and  only  then.  And  should  the 
Fathers  at  Washington  see  fit  to  throw  open  the  Navajo 
Reservation  to  the  whites,  the  only  place  left  to  transfer 
the  Indians  from  their  present  home  is  to  some  of  the 
lava-flow  sections  in  the  central  part  of  the  territory, 
where  there  is  absolutely  nothing  on  which  they  can 
live.  They  will  then  make  complete  the  extermination 
of  this  once  powerful,  progressive,  and  peaceful  people 
—in  one  or  two  years,  instead  of  one  or  two  genera- 
tions as  is  being  done  by  the  present  Indian  policy. 

THE   END. 


270 


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